All in a Name
by echosdusk
Summary: Rin is a mercenary soul reaper for the Eurasian soul society, and now she has to go back to the Seretei after 60 years presumed dead. How will her friends react? Not to mention how will Zaraki react to the resurection of his first real friend?
1. 1 Stolen Pieces of a Fragile Heart

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All in a Name

_A/N: Any questions, please go ahead! This fan-fiction will be on Deviant art and Fan-fiction, and there are already a few pictures relating to it on my deviant gallery, just search for my name, I'm still echosdusk. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks and I hope you enjoy it! By the way, if I have spelt names wrong I do apologise! _

_It does start on quite a serious tone, and it's designed to be very serious, but as we all know, nothing BLEACH related can ever be truly serious, so humour may be a little slow to kick off! Oh, and as a note, though Rin is Japanese you say her name pronouncing the R as R, it will be explained later! _

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Part One: Stolen Pieces of a Fragile Heart

Blood… Crimson, scarlet, mahogany, and black, the spectrum of colours swamped her body and coated her in the foul-smelling ooze, but she did not mind blood. Her own blood could be spilled regularly and so being a woman of rational thought the blood had been more of a common thing that she had never looked at twice. But this was not her blood even that did not matter to her usually, she was a member of Squad Twelve under Mayuri Kurotsuchi and she was from the Zaraki district itself! Usually the blood of another being filled her body with the chilling thrills of excitement, the promise of pain and screaming, and the excitement of battle or knowledge. But not this time!

She was falling backwards in her now blood-soaked Shihakusho, falling onto the freezing snow-covered ground that was now black. She hit the ground hard, her shoulder burning the ice away as it landed the venom of the sting of this Hollow coursing through her body. When her body bounced and her hips rattled when they landed in the ice, she could not feel it, or move out of the way of the other body. Before she knew it, the gapping hole where the sting had passed to reach her, was almost see-through. The organs and bone within had been severed and the hollow was still moving about ahead of her, whining and screaming over its missing arm. But on top of her, the saviour landed with a low wheeze and slid aside so he was able to lie beside her, and smile though blood poured from his nose and mouth.

"Sh…. Sho… Shoji don't…" She tried to gulp; her body was fighting the venom so it could continue to breathe; only her head remained functional. Her eyes were wide, tear ridden and quivering with the terror of what they were capturing. Her ears were ringing with the sound of the Hollow turning to the soul they had failed to protect, but they tried to focus in on the gentle smile upon the young man's pallid face. It was too late to save her brother, he had leapt in the way of the stinging spike of the hollows tongue and still it had caught his elder twin. The light blue hair that had matched his sister's so easily seemed to dull with the blood smears, but his face was smiling, and his lips parted with a word of purpose, and farewell. He had defended when he had been so scared and his brave sister had frozen to the spot, something that had never before happened, but had destroyed everything she had thought so hard for!

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"Are you alright, Captain?" A soft voice wafted gently to her ears and made her leap out of the covers, almost knocking her head on a bedside table. The voice was so sweetly soft and gentle that it could make the skin of Gin Ichimaru creep. It was the voice of Yaroslavl, one of her dear if not creepy friends which, was always willing to talk and listen. He was standing beside the white sheets that were grey with sweat, and something else that he did not need to mention. His face was a gentle smile and closed eyes, his skin paler then the face of a pearl and his hair was as golden as straw. In his hands was a tray with a cup of steaming tea and a digestive biscuit with chocolate on one side of it. His head was tilting like a curious puppy toward the shuddering body of his captain.

"What… Goodness me Yarol! You made my skin crawl then, but thanks for waking me up before the worst part. Agh!" Rin snarled angrily, her dazzling blue hair wafted forward over her shoulders with a jerking motion of her body. Her left hand darted to her right shoulder, where the sting had gone almost seventy years ago, and the neat fingertips tingled at the feeling of warm blood. She had definitely been moving too much, her pillow and one side of her body were caked in black and red blood; no wonder her dream had been so real! But Rin had barely any time to look at the wound before the tray was pushed onto a spare surface at the other end of the room, and Yaroslavl was beside her as swiftly as a shadow. His long pale fingers were grasping a sterile cloth and some bandage; he was quick to lean over his captain and pull some damp wipe from the other hands and clean up the massive gash that oozed on the right shoulder blade. After bandaging it up with a new sterile covering, he slid away from his captain's side.

"Don't exert yourself too much, your shoulder's split open again from thrashing in your sleep. I would hate for you to be bed-ridden from blood loss today of all days. Katrina is going to be arriving soon, and we'll be celebrating with the crew too. I hope you don't mind but I thought you could use a pick me up so I put some Vodka in your tea and left you to sleep an extra hour. Goodbye Captain." Yaroslavl turned aside with a gentle smile as he closed his bright blue eyes. He placed the tray on the bedside table and then took one of the silky dressing-gowns from the front of the large oak wardrobe and laid it on a spare chair that was sitting sullenly in the corner of the room. Then he bowed and turned away to the door, stepping into the light of the hall and closing the white-washed door behind him, sending the room back into the grey shadows of early morning.

Rin looked toward the door and then to her shoulder, the tray, the dressing-gown, and then down at her sheets. The pillow was black with blood and her soft lilac coverings were now crimson red with great blotches of brown where they had been soaking up pools. Rin had been moving around a hell of a lot that night and she was already over-sleeping! Forgetting the dreams for a moment Rin leapt out of the bed and quickly gathered her sheets together, feeling no-less embarrassed as she would if she'd wet herself or had a leak on her period! But as she rolled the sheets and coverings together, she quickly stuck them in a spare black bag, which she guessed Yaroslavl had left around for her, and then put them just outside the door. The only person she was worried of seeing them was Erik, and he thought everything was disgusting!

"Damn it all to hell! It's been almost a year since I last had that dream again; I thought it was all finally gone! That's not good at all; last time I had that was before we went and rescued the Pups! This means there's a big job coming up, and I'm not going to like it. I hate that dream, it's just a reminder of my foolishness, I should have moved and then I would never have left the Soul Society! Agh, what's the point of arguing with my subconscious?" She growled and then quickly drank down her ea, surprised at how much Vodka Yaroslavl had snuck into it, and then nibbled the biscuits. Then she grabbed the dressing gown and ran into the bathroom, locking the door, and lunging into a long shower.

When Rintakara Ninel, Captain of the Schwarzeis Stadt Mercenary Squad, stepped out of the shower and looked at herself in the mirror; she was deeply saddened. The bleeding was over and she was staring at the great long item at her naked body and every line of scarring that would never go away. To anyone else looking at her body, they would only notice the great scar across her stomach, the wrapped white lines around her left wrist, the scratch on her right cheek, and the great tear through the top of her right shoulder, they would not be able to see the tiny white lines on her pale skin or the internal wounds that haunted Rin, and made her curiously well-built form repulsive. For a moment Rin stared, and was entranced by her own sorrow, unaware of the world around her….

"Rin! I need to wash my hair! Can I have the shower already! What on earth are you doing in there that's taking so long? Please hurry up I've got green stripes on my fringe because of that bad lab experiment with the dyes!" A strong voice seemed to growl, but it was not a loud or deep voice. It was instead a strong posh voice with a tone of authority and a thick Russian accent. It was followed with a hammering on the door, and Rintakara went red is surprise and embarrassment.

"What? Oh God, sorry Igor, I'll just be a little longer!" Rin muttered nervously, speaking like a gentile woman with a friendly but very embarrassed voice as she blushed, a voice only kept for inside use. It was the voice of a young woman who had never been around any other man but her brother or childhood friend, but that was not the case at all. Rin was relaxed when in the shower; it was the only time apart from a very special day, which she returned to that point just before her brother was killed. But now she quickly pulled her towel and dressing gown on before darting outside after opening a window to let the steam out.

"What were you doing in there? Not staring at your reflection again, only we've told you about staring at shiny objects too long, it'll make your eyes go weird again! Now, Katrina's downstairs already and I think you should just put on whatever you can before she leaps into your sons' bedroom and you have to chase her out naked… Again…" Igor Rasputin questioned as he folded his thin (but muscled) arms and raised one of his long and thin black eyebrows. He spoke with a curious gleam in his eyes, but his expression was one of complete seriousness, and Rin just smiled at him nervously. The great grey eyes locked upon her, the long black fringe seemed to break up his sour look as the wind from the window flicked it about. His long black hair was tied up, and he looked surprisingly cool in his large jumper-shirt that was a pale blue colour and his great black jacket, he never had a problem in staying cool or attractive, it was only when he smiled to show two great fangs that most people backed away from him.

Rintakara scratched her head in remembrance of their former squad member's tendency to try to ask teenage boys whether they were still virgins. The last time she'd come over, Katrina Holst had run into the bed where poor young Erik had been staring into space in his underpants, and she'd started mobbing him with questions. He had freaked out so much that Rin, who had just gotten out of the shower, was screamed for. As was normal for Rin, the sound of her sons screaming indicated danger she had grabbed her zanpako-tu and lunged naked from the shower and through the door into the room, pinning Katrina down in a very awkward position, and scarring Erik for life.

"That was an awkward moment, yes, but don't worry I'll be down in a moment and that'll calm her down. She's probably still going to be bugging me about the incident with Markus; I don't understand why she doesn't understand it all. I mean, if even Zander can understand it, surely it's clear to other idiots?" Rin shrugged as she spoke, confused in general by a woman that had no sense of how to efficiently kill a wasp let alone do well in a battle situation. But her words were echoed in annoyance by a high sounding voice near the top of the stairs.

"HEY! I'm not an idiot boss! Oh… Crap…" Zander barked out to his captain, standing up from where he had been hiding at the top of the stairs. Unlike the other members of the squad, Zander was about five foot two, was as skinny as a pole, and looked like every stereotypic Russian gymnast! That was not surprising though, as Zander was a flash-step king and his practice in Bankai was simply making him even faster. But Zander was not alone, and he was also in trouble as he stood up and complained.

"ZANDER! TITAN! LEXY! And I know you're there too Boris! What the heck are you doing listening to my conversations? You should all be downstairs protecting Uri, Sascharissa, and Sergei from Katrina! Not to mention making sure Yaroslavl is not making the refreshments! Remember whose bleeding turn it is!" Rintakara was unique when it came to situations when authority was needed. She had been the head guard at the Seretei's maximum security prison, and then in command of all the prisons after her boss, Kisuke Urahara, had been promoted. She had dealt with some of the vilest shinigami known, including Mayuri Kurotsuchi! So, when yelling she maintained the same voice level throughout and her whole body remained still as a statue, though her voice seemed to make her companions quake.

As Zander collapsed, bowing on the floor, Rin noticed the reactions of the other three spies. Titan, a massive red-haired man who could smash a wall down with a single punch, had gone white in fear! Then next to him, the broad-shouldered, but skinny, grey-eyed, brown-haired, and big-nosed Lexy was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane! He was staring at Rin with his mouth-wide open and making a face like a guppy at feeding time. Rin gave him a harsher glare and he suddenly shrank back like a recoiling serpent to head back down the stairs. But next to him a tall man stood up, scratching his soft brown hair that was neatly kept to the top of his neck and he gave a sound like a grunt. He was another Russian, like his constant companion Lexy, but unlike Lexy he was strongly built with a very handsome look though he barely ever said much. However, though he seemed to look a little embarrass, he was not as scared as his friends.

"Sorry Captain, it was just a random eavesdropping! We were just going to go and check up on the kids! If anything, I and Lexy are going to hide from the sex-crazed bar-lady! We just heard you say something about Markus and were a little worried that you might be reconsidering the propositions he's made. However, we understand as our mighty Captain you would never hang about with any fool that would insult Captain Ivann. We were overall just listening for you safety." Boris smiled gently, and it was a pretty smile, but the edges of his mouth were twitching with fear. He was obviously doing the usual theorising on the spot to make it seem as though they had not been listening as early as Igor sitting outside of the shower. Rintakara was not amused however; instead she just began to grow a vicious snarl on her face before she growled.

"I'm so sure…. Now get out of my sight and where you're supposed to be, or you'll regret it." Rin's voice was stern and her face was sullen and threatening. She could not stand it when her companions found it their duty to listen in on her conversations, especially in light of recent events involving her love life. It was bad enough that Katrina had once held the position of nagging Rin to get a boyfriend and now to have the boys doing that? Rin made a continuous growling sound as she stepped back into her room, watching her companions scuttle down the stairs after grabbing one another and hurrying off. But she also noted the sound of the bathroom door and groaned! To think people thought she took the longest in the shower; meet Mr Igor Rasputin, the world's most sanitized lunatic!

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Time passed and it was soon late evening, the memorial party was underway and there were many guests. Rin had been enjoying herself a lot, even though she had been nagged continuously by female friends about how stupid she was over Markus! But Rin refused to comment, she had pride enough to respect the dead or old friends she had not seen in a long time. Plus, Markus had been getting a little too fond of their relationship and attempted to prevent Rintakara doing what she loved, being a mercenary! Overall it did not matter, as long as Rin felt the reason had been a good one no one else had a say.

The time had been quite humorous though, she had watched Katrina try to feel up every male guest present, Lexy and Boris get questioned about whether they had considered becoming gay, question they were asked too often, and once more Igor had many girls after him. Yaroslavl had also had a few ladies talking to him, but after he mentioned a few of his hobbies and interests, such as knitting, bag-pipes, and hair-dressing; they had quickly shuffled away. Rin couldn't blame them, Yaroslavl was WEIRD! Then there had been a point when Titan and Zander were fighting over the same girl to dance to, and Uri was getting chased by some of the young daughters of Rin's friends, the opposite was happening with Sascharissa too, but Rin had been smart enough to ask Katrina to question her about sexual safety whenever a boy started whispering in her ears!

In the meantime her two blue-haired and blue-eyed boys had been on the edge of things until the older women had started tugging at Sergei's cheeks, mentioning how cute he'd been as a baby. A similar situation was happening with Erik, except he was being bullied by the older male scientists about his "cat" techniques and the incident where he'd been learning to dance and dressed up in a flamenco dress! Rin had soon left it all to the side, and had found herself eating a iced bun near the patio doors with Igor beside her drinking some straight vodka, and at this pint she was approached by someone very important!

"Ah, I was hoping to catch a moment with you two alone! By the way these stuffed rolls are delicious, I take it there another one of Boris' specialities? I was actually quite worried when I came in and spotted Yaroslavl trying to make those pineapple-cheese-stick things using bacon, bratwurst, a few pieces of pork, and other meaty condiments! He's not exactly the most varied chef around, is he?" The voice was gentle and fun, and the face was mature, moustached, and scarred though sweet and noble. It was none other then Lord Wilhelm Schatzstein, one of the current runners in the elections as High Lord and General of their area, and he was a close friend. Only through his kindness and intervention, which had meant both Sergei and Erik, could remain as Rin's adopted sons. But before the kind and wise man spoke more, he took a large swig of the punch from his beer glass, and Igor spoke.

"I'm afraid Yaroslavl actually made the punch you're drinking." Igor mused at their master as he paused with the swig of the bright red liquid filling his cheeks. His face suddenly turned into one of horror as he realised the over-power presence of vodka in the drink. Immediately he made a choking sound and the other two just began to chuckle at his reaction. Then Rin slapped Igor's shoulder when her master sprayed pink alcohol over her and made her blue hair go purple. Some of the guests had spotted this and were laughing their own heads off before they too drank and began to do the same. To Yaroslavl, the concept of spiking the punch as never necessary, and after grabbing a prepared tea-towel, Rin, Igor and Schatzstein stepped outside to the great hilled garden.

"Well, other then that I needed to discuss an important matter with you. Now seems as good a time, and least conspicuous a time as any, my friends. You see, with the elections coming soon I've had several attempts on my life, the same with others going up against Lord Bernstein, and I need somewhere safe to go. I would not usually go to mercenaries, even though I trust you all greatly and have the utmost respect for you, especially since Captain Ivann's passing, may he rest in peace…" Quickly Schatzstein pressed his hand to his heart, something that had developed in their soul society as marking respect to deceased members, and Igor did the same, Rin just glanced across the fog ridden grass toward the top of a great blossom tree, which was only just blooming. Schatzstein continued his recent terrors were well known to the squad. "But with situations being as they are, until the election in four months I cannot remain in Eurasia. There has been some luck recently in finding me a place to hide that is impenetrable to Bernstein, and indeed to our old pal Vladimir Dracul. But I need to hire four mercenary squads as well as my best staff to protect me while I'm there, and as it is a place familiar to you, Captain Rin, the Glacier Squad came highly in the list of recommendations."

"What do you mean, sir? We've not been outside of the Eurasian Soul Society since the Soviet years split each region! We have been nowhere you haven't…" Igor began, but then he noted that the seemingly jokey tone of his own voice was not a good thing. He quickly made a gulping sound and checked his master's eyes. The eyes of the lord were fixed onto the form of Rin, and Igor turned his eyes toward hers. The two different coloured orbs seemed to be concentrating, though there was no motion in them. Instead Igor noticed how Rin's mouth seemed to curve at the edge and how her lips rose as she seemed to understand what was being asked.

"Are you suggesting that we're going to Vladivostok's Soul Gates and then opening the portal to The Seretei?" Rintakara snarled through gritted teeth, it had been sixty years since she had been in that world, and she had no real desire to return after what had occurred both there and here. But the slow nod from Schatzstein gave it away all too easily, and she clenched her fists till a red stream of spiritual pressure seemed to swell around them. Her eyes seemed to glow with the fire in her body and she found herself grinding her teeth and trying to think of what to say. The Japanese Soul Society was no longer safe ground, she had found out enough in their brief mission into Hueco Mundo to know the security would have been tightened. She knew also that after the time she had been away they would have marked her down as dead or exiled, and she knew that if she returned there would be a lot of explaining to do, otherwise she would never have been stuck in Eurasia. "That's foolish nonsense! Sure it might be a place away from Bernstein but even Hueco Mundo is more predictable there! Our communication is so limited you can't imagine them to believe what we are! Even if you tried they would never let you stay without testing your strength, and I'm very annoyed that you would even think of such a foolish mission, and ask me of all people to guide you when I'm little more then a ghost amongst the dead there!"

"True, but I am an old friend of Head Captain Yamamoto from a time before our societies closed their doors upon each other, before the Royal Guards were ever necessary let alone the guard divisions. Some luck meant a mission of my own into the islands of Japan meant I caught him on a mission of his own and we established contact. He has given me all the news I needed, and I have a channel open to pass information directly to him alone, I will not pass through any information you do not want passed on. I won't even tell him who you are, Rin. Besides, it might be cathartic for you to return and face down some of the things you hated about that place, don't you think?" Schatzstein questioned softly, trying hard to twist his words in a manner that would either confuse or calm Ninel, after-all she could become very violent when annoyed and he was desperate for her help.

"You obviously do not understand, my lord! Sure in the Soviet times we had it hard to wander and escape the eyes of the Watchers here and there, but the Seretei is not a calm place and is worse then that! You cannot simply walk in, whether you have permission or not, and expect to be greeted by them as a friend, I mean, half the squads have no idea what the others do! Think about it, I never knew there was a Soul Society beyond the Seretei before meeting Ivann! Do you think they'll believe you? Don't you think it's far more likely that they'll assume you to be Arrancar? I hope you don't think all of them can compare to even Zander in intelligence! The main squad that will cause you problems on entry are as thick as the walls of the place, maybe even more so! Do you understand me?" Rintakara began to growl like an angry dog through her gritted teeth, but though angry her eyes were wide and seemed to be fear-ridden. Her arms were shaking and completely engulfed by the flames of her spiritual pressure, she was very angry and very scared. It had been too long since she had been in the Japanese Soul Society and just as long since she'd been even to see the sea!

"It's your own choice Rin, I won't force your squad to guide me there, but I am asking for your help. The payment will be anything you want; I understand how much pressure I'm putting on you, my friends. But though I would not call a threat, remember that if I had not spoken up twelve years ago at the council, Sergei would never have been kept in your care." Schatzstein's voice was cool and calm, filled with wisdom and yet dark power as he spoke. His voice had deepened to the voice he had held in the varying tough situations and important diplomatic speeches he had given so many times before. But he had never spoken in such a way to Rin, and she froze with slight surprise and with shock too that he would mention something that Rin had almost taken as an oath to repay him with. But he said nothing more and turned away to go back inside, chatting once again in his friendly voice as he greeted Sergei, who had been watching them from the window.

"Well… What are you going to do, Rin?" Igor spoke after ten minutes of silence, noting the disappearance on Rin's flames as she remained motionless in thought. He knew her better then anyone else, even better then she knew herself because of their blood and energy sharing, and he was surprised himself. He stepped over to Rin's side and patted her shoulder gently, quickly to pull it away before she could snap at him, he knew she was upset. But his soft eyes were now looking toward where Sergei, a young fifteen-year-old boy with strange blue hair, dazzling green eyes, and such a sweet and gentle face that smiled out at the world as he talked to the people that had helped keep him with his adopted mother. "I know how your heart and mind works, but I don't even know what your emotions are doing! I can guess you're torn between honour and fear; you want to keep your oaths and you want to see all the people you feel a need to see once more and that you have missed terribly! I know at least one person you would die to see, in every sense of the world. But what do you want us to do? We'll support anything you feel is the right choice"

"Whatever I choose, it is my choice alone and I do not wish to be lectured. Now, leave me alone for a while please, Igor. I have to go and see to my promise, if only to figure out how to deal with another one!" Rin growled angrily and she stepped away from him, away from the party, and toward a beautiful blossom tree where something special sat beneath….

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Next Time: Part Two – Whispering Pains of Rains Unknown

_Rin is troubled with the choices she has in front of her, should she return or should she stay and ignore the need for her help? So Rin seeks the advice of the dead, only to find herself thinking back to her past. Will Rin accept the job? What painful memories will stop her going back to her real home? Plus a chance to learn her oath to Ivann, her sorrow over her brother's death, whence she came to the Seretei, and a very special person she met there… _


	2. 2 Whispering Pains of Rains Unknown

**Part Two: Whispering Pains of Rains Unknown **

"Stop it! Stop hurting her I beg you! She didn't know, but I have it here! Let her go and I'll give it to you! Oh Rin! Oh Rin, you foolish woman! Why did you suffer this? Why didn't you give in, I would've understood! Oh, to hell with that oath and your protector's pride, they've half killed you!" The words had been quick, rushed out and yet filled with the sorrow in Ivann's heart. They had been some of the last he'd ever said, and she had done nothing but stare into the room like a zombie. She had seen Vladimir step into the room with Sergei in his wake, and she had felt her son grab her and the taste of his bitter tears had been present on the edge of her blood soaked mouth. But still she had done nothing, she was broken and torn and dead on the inside. The crystal had been given to Vlad and Dmitri had grabbed the screaming Sergei, who'd just kicked him in the shin. But from nowhere the blade of Vlad had pierced Ivann's chest and he had fallen in front of Rin as Shoji had so long ago; Rin had done nothing till then, only to realise that her right arm and both legs were broken, and as she had come around Sergei had been taken away to Hueco Mundo where the soul reaper rebels seemed to keep slipping!

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"They're not behind Bernstein, not really! He's just hiding behind them, but I don't know what to do! Ivann, you were right!" Rin sighed as she stood beneath the blossom tree that shaded her from the May sunshine. Its purple and black coloured flowers were so unique that she could not help but notice how beautifully they bloomed as they dropped from the branches and onto the graves. "I would return but for my oaths! How could I look at my masters and betters there? How could I turn around and tell them my brother and my dear saviour died because I froze? How could I look them in the eye and confess that? How could I even dare to look at Kenpachi? How?"

There were four graves, though one was simply a stone column for Rin's own sake. They lay together just aside of the tree, silent and yet serene as she spoke her worries to them. It was not as if they could stand and speak back to her, but Rin wished them to! She stood in front of Ivann's grave, two-years-old though it looked freshly made; she was always talking to his grave as she had promised him. But though no voice of death spoke, the grassy patches and Glacier flowers around the raves seemed to strain in the wind towards her words.

"If I return, how will they react, huh? They'll probably think I ran away and will have exiled me! Or they'd think I was dead! If I did return I'd have to remain in my disguise, even with that on I still look like my brother…."

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"That's an interesting use for your spare spiritual powers, Rin. I would never have believed you could manipulate excess spiritual pressure to do that! Not to mention there's barely a sense of your spirit levels with all of that on! It's a clever way to keep hidden, after-all; women are easy targets in mercenary squads!" The three scientists had mused over Rin's disguise, proud to have assisted at least in some of it, and proud that Rin was smart like them!

Rin had stared at herself in the mirror ad been quite amazed. The weighted jacket, the wrist and ankle bands, the spirit energy consumed necklace, the hat, the eye patch, the great heavy-shouldered coat, and the belt were not as heavy as she had thought. Her spiritual strength was still at a strong enough level to rival a lieutenant, but she was not feeling ill like she usually did when it built up with time. The mask was also doing a great task, though she had been surprised how well it had worked in forming an image over her womanly build to make her appear exactly like a man. As long as the mask was on, no one would ever know, but at the same time she could never remove the old collar that Captain Urahara had created and Akon and Mayuri had helped develop! But at the same time she could see something terrible in the mirror, something that made her eyes watery with tears.

"An amazing twist of technologies isn't it, Rin? I didn't think my Bounto powers would be of much help, but it seems they did quite a good job at hiding your spiritual pressure! Plus I think that eye-patch might help you out when your eye does that funny thing where you can't see in it! The coat and belt don't look too bad, and overall you do make a smashing man! Not that I mean anything by it, so stopping giggling Yarol!" Igor boasted happily as he gave the coat a little tug, and then he had a closer look of the bands that were coated in a thin layer of spiritual pressure repelling items, all needed by Rin to stop her pressure going mad. It was not unique for soul reapers to sometimes have a massive amount of uncontrollable spiritual energy, and some had good concentration skills for it, but with Rin she could only hold it so well before loosing her concentration in dangerous situations, and other times she could not even be around others because it was too strong! But now Igor had noticed something in Rin's face and was suddenly trying to bite his own tongue. He began waving his arms around as he panicked over what he might have done wrong. "What's wrong? I didn't mean you look better as a man or anything, I didn't man to make you space out either!"

"Thank you Igor, please excuse my day-dreaming. I was… I was just thinking about my brother…" Rin softly whispered in the gentlest voice she had ever had before she'd adopted Sergei. At that time she had only been out of the Seretei for five years, and the fact that she could see herself as her brother in the mirror was just starting to remind her of how she could never get back there. Tears streamed down her cheeks though she made no sound, something she was quite good at doing with the years, and Igor was starting to back up with Yaroslavl in case Rin wanted to be left alone. But it was Ivann who spoke and held her close to him as though he was not afraid of the insane fighting spirit and fiery temper within the seemingly fragile young woman.

"There's no need to worry, dear Rin, you'll not have to tell anyone about it here. A mistake was made, and we must learn from these things to prevent them continuing in the rest of our lives. Do not fear, and do not worry about crying either, dear lady!" Ivann's voice was not laced with a Russian accent, though he was from St Petersburg in the far northwest; instead it was the softest and most calming voice with an undertone of great wisdom and power, a voice like a guardian angel rather then a scientist from the Soviet Union's Soul Society. As he held Rin close to his tall but non-muscular form, his great and strangely golden eyes clouded and watered themselves as Rin pressed close into his side, weeping gently. Ivann then found himself staring into the mirror, at his curiously useless glasses and straw-like blonde hair that he was starting to consider tying up.

"Thank you… It means a lot for you to tell me that." Rin muttered softly and sorrowfully. She pressed in tighter to Ivann, almost slotting into place by his armpit, leaning her head on his chest as she wept uncontrollably. Her tears were making a grey patch on Ivann's white lab coat, but he was holding Rin in return, almost as if he had needed a hug too and he looked back in the mirror as the hat slid off of her head and the mask dropped with it, making Rin look like a woman again. Ivann gave another gentle sigh and then he wrapped himself around her, patting her back gently and swaying as they stood together.

"It's not a problem, and remember it well my friend. Though you've pledged your life to save mine, don't blame yourself if you cannot fulfil that. It is simply a joy to have a very smart young woman around us, especially when we were all a little worried that you were not going to survive in the first place."

* * *

"I don't know if they'd accept me, considering. I wanted to try and think I could return back then, but I knew it would never work, even when the boarders opened. Even when I met another soul reaper I'd thought was dead already! You knew I wanted to return, didn't you? Is that why you tried to stop me from keeping my oath so much? Is that why you swore at my vows and called me an idiot when I got injured? I know you only did that because you cared, but even you knew I couldn't have gone back. But then I wonder if perhaps you could read the future and knew both of your own death and of this arrangement…" Rin's voice was low as she looked down to the ground, standing like a statue in the lonely afternoon. The flowers on the grave seemed to strain toward her in the growing wind, almost as if trying to reach out and touch her boot.

Her eyes cast upon the grave and the beautiful flowers upon it; she was surprised they were still growing so well. But she ignored their stretching motions and turned around in a circled beside the grave's headstone, forgetting to read the words she had chosen to be carved upon it; the words that called him a hero, a wise man, and a father to everyone. Instead she looked toward the tree, that wonderful tree whose seed she had been given stuck to the back of her necklace. It had been a present from Shoji on his death, and Rin had wondered whether he had known of it. She placed a soft and slender hand, which was hardened in places by scars, and pressed it to the tiny shard of black that had once belonged to her own sword but that she had lost protecting and giving it to her brother. At the same time she remembered how the tree had grown only within the twenty years she had been in the German quarter of the Eurasian Soul Society, she remembered too that it was the only tree of its kind in that whole world, and that even in the Seretei it only grew in her home of Zaraki.

"Shoji, I know you would want me to complete my oaths, even though I cannot fulfil the original one to Ivann. But he knows I tried my best to prevent his death, just like he turned up at the moment I blanked out and slaughtered the hollow that had taken your life! But what do you want me to do? I cannot face them all and say I was stupid, scared, and froze when it was so predictable the hollow would attack. Oh, why dear brother was I such a fool to have gone with you? Why couldn't you have taken me to the living world some other day when that hollow would have been elsewhere? What should I do?" Rin's eyes clouded and tears dribbled off her cheek to the edge of the small stone column she had put up to represent her brother's grave, for she would never be able to see his true grave, let alone her own!

A wind rustled the leaves on the trees and Rin could hear the storm that had been building up further away coming closer, and she longed for the rains to return to her. Of all the many things in her life she had ever gained comfort from, rain was the best. It filled her heart with some of her greatest memories and most tragic, she could remember better with it too. There had never been a day without rain in her youth but the rain could be from the sky or from her eyes. She found herself thinking back on how she came to be in the soul society in the first place, or at least as far as she could remember. But her first thoughts just seemed to close on the one thing she always said about Zaraki, where she had been found; "there must be balance in every manner, and where the land of Zaraki is some of the most beautiful around, the people there are the harshest and most vile you could possibly imagine!"

* * *

The rain had been pouring for several hours and the two children had still been huddled together under an abandoned doorway to keep warm. They had not understood where they were, or how they had got that way save for the fire that had burnt their Russian father away from them. They were also confused by their hair, which had turned a sky blue colour and how their eye colours had managed to become so strange that each of them had a blue and green eye now, rather then his being blue and hers being green! But that had not mattered, they had been together and though they had heard the violence of the other people in that broken down little village area, they had found safety in the forests of blossom trees and the shadows of the flowering fields. They had not experienced the horrors of Zaraki first-hand, but only heard them. Until that moment they had not seen people either, but then they had spotted several figures amongst the misting rain as Rin and Shoji had together let out a gentle warming glow of spiritual energy, which they could not understand themselves.

"There are two children here my Lord Uso, and they are amazingly strong. Can you feel the spiritual pressure in the air around them; no other seven-year-olds could ooze such power unless they were truly powerful! Please master, come and see them." The voice had been that of a relatively smart, but old man who had been wearing drab brown servant's clothes and leaning toward them with strangely hopeful eyes. His voice had been harsh, but Rin had smiled at him though her brother had quaked. From behind the man had come four other men, three wearing large swords and looking like the typical hired thugs of the area that would do anything to keep money in their pockets, food in their bellies, and blood on their swords. The other man had been different, and he had nodded to the older man and stepped straight in front of the children, wearing great long and warm blue robes patterned with black and white blossom branches. But though he had seemed eager to look at them, his voice and face had been filled with anger and boredom.

"What are your names, children? Do you live here? How long have you been outside in this rain? Where are your parents? And… How do come you have this pressure around you?" His voice was cold and his eyes of grey were just as cold, especially as they gazed upon Rin. He had been a reasonably handsome man though, the typical noble blood that was tall and slim with soft pale skin and long hair, his had been a dark brown, almost black shade and he had a face like a statue, hard and emotionless. But Rin had not been afraid of him, she had felt a need to stand tall, yet be polite, when he had appeared.

"I am Rintakara Ninel, and this is my brother, Shoji. We only arrived yesterday and we can't find our father. He's not Japanese like our mother was, he's Russian, and we're afraid he doesn't know what he's doing here. There was a fire you understand, and we woke up hear. I think we're dead, but I don't know where we are or where he is. We don't know what you mean by pressure either? Is that what you call this strange throbbing in the air?" Rin had tried to speak graciously and yet she had been young and foolish. Her words though had impressed the two men that stared at them, and Lord Uso had blinked and lowered his head, almost in understanding. But Rin had not liked his words of response.

"I'm afraid you will not be able to find your father, but do not fear. I will take your brother on and give him a better name and a better life. I am Lord Uso, the only nobleman that dares live in the Rukongai area 80, Zaraki, and I wish to adopt you, boy." He had suddenly seemed to warm up suddenly in the rain, and he smiled softly as he knelt down in front of the nervous Shoji. But though Rin had known very well that this was the best way for Shoji, she had not wanted him to leave her. At that time she was not told until three months after the adoption that Lord Takeshi Uso had been the last in his family line left, that his wife had died giving birth to their child, and that the child had died too. Though Rin and Lord Uso had not liked each other, she would have understood if she'd been told, but he had been a strange man who had never re-married or even tried.

"But… But I don't want to leave my sister! She'll die if she's alone! No! I won't go!" Shoji had cried, something Rin had seen him do often, but this time it had been different. Shoji had been bullied no matter what rank or age he was, he was just a naturally sweet and friendly person who was unfortunately a little gullible; but he had tried to stand up for them both then. Lord Uso had been quite surprised at this, and his eyes had widened with shock, and even slightly wavered as if he were going to cry himself, he had been desperate of course to find a suitable heir, and to have a chance to raise a son.

"Don't worry about me Shoji, I can find some way to live. I'll still protect you, but you have a chance for a better life now. I don't need to be mummy anymore, and I'm sure I'll be okay. I know this will be scary, but we're both tough." Rin had almost cried trying to explain things to her brother, but only because as she had thought of it, she had always been jealous that he had been the wanted one. But Shoji had continued to complain and even gripped onto her arm until Lord Uso had bent right to his level and patted his shoulder, and then he had turned to Rin.

Lord Uso's eyes fell upon Rin, and he released a small amount of spiritual pressure, which would have been enough to knock a child to the ground if they could feel it, and indeed Shoji had cowered even more. But Rin had turned around to face him, and their eyes had become locked upon each other, and within a minute they had both summed up the other, and were annoyed. The lord gave a low sigh and turned toward his subjects, then he growled low and looked back at the children, his eyes warm to Shoji but harsh to Rin. He seemed to have struggled to say the words, he had paused to think, and then he had bowed his head and sighed before looking toward the older gentleman and then back to the children.

"I will take you both, I hear twins are better kept together, but you must both live by my rules and my names. Shoji, you will be named Ryuhiko, after my grandfather who was one of the best soul reapers when the order first began. And you, Rin, your name will no longer be Rintakara, such a strange name, instead you will be called Yachiru. I was once a comrade to a great fighter and man named Yachiru, and he was a good friend to me but a little too independent. I think it will suit you. It seems strange to name you after a man, but he was strange at having a rather more feminine name, perhaps it will fit. But either way, I am not going to let both of you drown in the horrors of Zaraki's undergrowth." Lord Uso had spoken with great authority, and the other men had nodded their heads in agreement to his words. Even Shoji, who had worded the name a little curiously, had nodded like an obedient servant. But already Rin had found herself filled with rage, and there was a strange but small burst of spiritual pressure as she responded with a much more authoritarian tone.

"NO! I will respect your rules but not that of a name change! My name was a mix of my father's work and my dead mother's name, I will not change it! I will be named once in my existence and once only. I do not care who you name me for, my name is more importa…." Rin had snorted but she had not been permitted to finish. With a quick motion and what had seemed like an eternal echoing sound, Lord Uso's hand had stretched from his robes and caught her swiftly around the face. She had stepped back, quieted, but filled with a stubborn rage, and he had looked at her with eyes harder then any metal, which shock with his own anger, and that had been that.

That slap had shaped their relationship from then on, though it had been filled with a harder time for Rin than she had assumed. Thinking back over her childhood it had never been happy or without trouble or restraint, unlike Shoji she had never been permitted to play with any of the other children in the area or study the same as him. In the early days, she had never even been allowed in the front of the house or in the gardens without an escort, and she had never understood that. But though in the earlier times she had kept to the rules and only done things under watch, one meeting when she had not done as her "father" had asked, proved to her it had been wrong. That meeting had given her the strength to be herself and to be brave against Lord Uso's scolding and beatings. In fact, the strength of disobeying him once had given her the courage to stand up and make sure she went with her brother to the Soul Reaper Academy, though she had taken ten years to convince him to let her go. He had made her life very difficult, but she knew he had loved her brother greatly and protected him as he had promised.

* * *

"I know he must have been very sad at your death, Shoji, but he would not have cared for my life. I was not what he wanted me to be, I had wanted to be a soul reaper and not some noble-brat's bride! Sometimes I wondered if you ever understood that, remember what he tried to do to me to stop me from even seeing other children, boys especially? He used to make me work in the kitchens and then when he realised they were just letting me do as I pleased, he used to lock me in my room when you went out to play! The foolishness of some people, but I sometimes wonder if he was just over-protective…" Rin mused, but quickly she dismissed the idea, feeling only hatred for a man that had never let her be herself ever! She gave a low grow and punched the air near the tree, only to step back in slight surprise, as if something had touched her.

The blossom tree began to sway as the wind picked up and the dark clouds swam overhead. Rin wanted to come up with a decision soon, before the party ended and she would have to cross paths with Markus to speak to Schatzstein again. The tree seemed to know this, and it dropped one of its curious flowers down before her feet, and she stared at it for a moment. Her mind pondered over the strange shape of the plants and their even odder colouration. She remembered that the flowers of the Zaraki Blossom trees were very strange and indeed very unique even amongst the strange spiritual pressures of the Soul Societies. It was like the Glacier flowers, they only grew around the edges of glaciers and around the deathbeds of the squad members, like the ones at her feet. But the Zaraki Blossom was the only beautiful thing in that whole horrid area of the Rukongai and yet she had managed to grow her own one. Their flowers were purple with black flecks on the inside of the petals and a strange red "inner" flower that coated blue pollen in the air. They were very strange indeed, but for Rin they were the epicentre of her happiness.

The rain came spilling down within a few seconds and Rin was reduced to a soaking figure of grey and blue as it thundered overhead. Most would never stand by a tree when lightning was present, but Rin knew the tree would protect her, and the sound of the storm was calming her more then she could have hoped it to. With the rain covering her body she could think clearly and thoroughly over her conundrum, but she fell to daydreaming of the past again. But this time she was touching the stone wall she had made around the edge of the tree, similar to the one in her old home in Zaraki. She always did that when it rained, it was just what she always did because no matter what the trees only told her of her greatest memory and her greatest friend! She could not help but chuckle at the air as she started to think about some of the funniest but typical childish things she had ever said. After-all, when she had first met him she had been eleven and he had been about sixteen or eighteen, a point her father had always pressed upon when she'd gone to visit him when it was dangerous!

* * *

"Why aren't you scared of me?" The voice had been deep, gravelly, but filled with a slight edge of surprise and unbearable loneliness, and Rin had understood him. The blood in the courtyard, the bodies of her father's hired thugs, and the terrible rain did not matter to her when she had found something wonderful. The young man had appeared from the forests of blood and fear outside the walls of the garden to Lord Uso's household to stand and fight him. Uso had been a soul reaper once after-all, but this young man had the soul pressure, the power, and a sword; but the lord had not come out and instead sent his thugs out there. They had been killed with one swipe and the stranger had then sat on the edge of the stones around the Zaraki Blossom in courtyard and stared into space. Then Rin had come out to see who he was because it was the time she usually went out and she was not going to give up her time because of her father's fear.

"Why? Is there any particular reason I should be afraid of a starving warrior? You're older then me, yeah, but not so much older I shouldn't talk to you, stranger." Rin had questioned cheekily with a beautiful smile on her face, and she had passed the umbrella into his great long-fingered hands without fear. The stranger had tightened his hand around it but seemed a little surprised that she would give up being dry to let him be dry. Then Rin had just smiled at him in anticipation, she had not cared about anything else at that time, just this curiously interesting stranger.

"Who are you?" The strange young man had questioned, and it had been then that Rin had looked properly at his eyes and felt the spiritual pressure. The eyes were large, but the pupil and colouring small and precise, like the eyes of anyone that could not trust anyone but themselves; but they had focused upon her intently as if trying to scare her. It was obvious he had never known kindness before, let alone been near a child that did not squeal and run off in terror. But Rin had looked at him with such kindness and delight his eyes had seemed to waver with tears of joy, but he never did anything else except sigh. Rin had just chuckled gently, later on she would here people calling his eyes the eyes of a killer, but she had thought them the most amazingly beautiful eyes in the world!

"My name is Rintakara Ninel, though around here my adopted name is Yachiru Uso. Here, I'll spell them in the mud here so you can see what I mean, a lot of people don't understand why I say the R in my name like an R, but that's because I'm not fully Japanese! But there we go, what's your name?" Rin had chuckled as she had knelt into the mud in her pretty little black and purple kimono, which had surprised the stranger enough for him to lean over. But Rin had quickly squiggled both her names down in the mud and then stood up with a smile looking happy once more. Then Rin sat up and smiled at him once more, noting this time how long his black hair was and how big his nose and chin were, she had never seen a man like that before. "But I prefer to be called Rin, it's just what I'm used to, stranger."

"I don't have one, I never have. Yachiru, huh, that's not a bad name to have, but I can see why you'd rather be called Rin, at least I imagine. But why have you given me the umbrella, you'll soak your pretty dress?" He had almost gasped the question as the rain had become a sudden torrent and flattened Rin's short blue hair right to the back of her neck. But Rin had never stopped smiling with the weather. But she was suddenly looking concerned and ignoring his question to look sorrowfully at him. Why? She could not understand why he did not have a name, and she was upset for him!

"You don't? Now I feel so selfish for having two, I'm so sorry for you! But don't worry about the umbrella, I like the rain, and I don't like this dress anyway! I don't like seeing people looking so wet and hungry or tired! You wait here, I'll go get you something to eat and drink! You look like you could use it, and you seem a nice person too. Don't go anywhere!" Rin had chuckled excitedly and then bolted back into the house before he had been able to say anything. Then she had hopped back outside with a tray holding a cup with some warm tea and three small sweet buns, which Rin had learnt to make earlier in the day.

She had watched him eat the buns and she had stood there smiling sweetly at him for a long time indeed. That day had been the very first of many occasions when she would meet that young man, who had only been seven years her senior, but already had seemed to regard her as a friend. Back then, he had not taken a name but later she learnt he had titled himself Kenpachi, Kenpachi Zaraki. When she had seen him after her childhood he had been a much more important person, but Rin had never been able to hang around him as much as she had wanted to.

***

The rain drummed against the trunk of the tree and as her spiritual pressure formed a red flame around her, steaming the air and drying Rin, she smiled softly. The meeting with Kenpachi had been the best thing that had ever happened in her life, and she missed him greatly. There were few people that had ever done so much and respected her in life, but he had been one of them, and she had owed him more times then she could remember. Her eyes had turned to the flowers and to the tree itself, and then she had looked at the storm and chuckled gently.

"That's it? That's the reason to return, to see him and confront my fear? I wonder about you all sometimes; you just want to tease me even when you're supposed to be dead! I hated how you used to tease and bully, but I know now I should go! You're right! I'll go tell Schatzstein I'll go there and when I do, I'll go and see my old friend and see if he is pissed off with me still or finally understood what I was on about!" Rin chuckled excitedly and bolted toward the door, forgetting that the door was made of glass and not open. She walked into the door with a high pitched swear and her guests were a little surprised!

* * *

_**Next Time: Part Three – Citadel of Grief, Sorrow, and Fate **_

_The mission is accepted but someone needs to take the letter to the Seretei because no one can afford the postage costs let alone the pigeon! So, Rin takes her most trusted members of the squad with her to make the initial arrangements and meet with the thirteen court guard squads, but there's trouble in store. On arriving in the Rukongai, Rin finds herself caught in helping out some children with nothing to loose, and remembering even more of her hard times. But she has other jobs to do, and yet her mind is stuck wandering upon her past memories. She doesn't really want to remember most of it, but sometimes when you're nervous your brain goes wandering and Rin has a tendency to space-out for no reason! _


	3. 3 Citadel of Grief and Sorrow

**Three: Citadel of Grief and Sorrow **

_**Author's Note:**__ I'm going mad…. I ended up doing research on a place that is only mentioned for 3 paragraphs and yet I did and hour of research on it! Sheesh! I'm putting as much effort into this as I do with my story work…. Oh yeah, I'm not being mean to anyone whose ever been there or lives there, I'm just describing how the character's feel, and quite frankly Igor's a posh aristocratic git when it comes to cities and thinks everywhere should look like it did in the eighteenth century! Plus I'm trying to get out of the whole flashback things, but they're key to a lot of what will be happening later… _

"Welcome to Vladivostok! Shipping central of eastern Siberia and a very smelly place! The land where you only come if you're planning to travel on a fantastically long and cold train journey across Siberia, or if you're here to check the pollution rate since the 1980's, isn't it grand? Remind me why we couldn't take the train here like I wanted to?" Rin snorted with annoyance, having wanted since she first arrived in Eurasia to ride the Trans-Siberian express… but then again Rin had a strange fondness for travelling overnight on trains that her nervous cohorts could never understand. Titan was looking around at the busy and strangely soiled scenery and more particularly at the great big glass portal in front of him. They were at the train station in Vladivostok, administrative centre of the Primorsky Krai, but they had arrived by air from Moscow just when people were starting to protest and block it off, something to do with cars and the financial crisis or something; but Rin herself was staring into space.

"It hasn't changed too much, has it Rin? I'm surprised it still looks sort of 'crummy' after fifty years! Rin? Rin are you okay?" Igor questioned nervously as he turned from looking nostalgic toward his captain, who was in her full, 'dressed as a man but looks like a vampire hunter' gear and staring blankly toward the white walls of the grand station, probably one of the only pretty buildings in the place. He waved his hand in front of her face and she jumped slightly. "You alright? I told you before you shouldn't keep staring at things, it makes your eyes go like soup-plates, and I'm starting to worry about these flashbacks you keep having! Remember, when you get them, I can smell them!"

"Not too much has changed, Igor, the railways have improved the buildings have improved and everything is slightly modern. There's still never much snow here in winter and yet there's pollution too! But then again, I suppose it was 1957 we were last here! After all, the Soviets at Central said we had to stick to the rules of the living and that Mercenaries weren't welcome anywhere. Ah… Good times, good times. Well, there's the portal boss. You'll want to do the whole freaky incantation thing." Yaroslavl yipped with delight as he bounced up and down in his pale cream-coloured coat and tried hard to wake his legs up; when you were a soul reaper flying could be a taxing affair! He was also seeming slightly nostalgic but only because the portal was invisible to the average human, though drunken hobos could see it, and the portal had been off limits for five hundred years when the Soul Societies closed each other off!

"If this fails, do you think it will actually open up? Or will it open into hell, or a hollow's jaws, or into some terribly dirty person's bathroom? Maybe it'll open p into the past and we'll find out who assassinated Lord Drosdov when he visited the soul reapers down here thirty years ago!" Zander snorted with boredom, he was in no way thrilled by this whole affair and Rin just snorted at him. She stepped forward and pulled out the long scroll to read, glad that if any humans looked they'd just see a bunch of businessmen staring at business documents, and not five men carrying dangerous weapons and dressed like they were killing demons.

"From the land of ice to the land of blossoms, a world of white to a world of rose, time has ripped us aside and the land was long ago divided…" Rin began, but she quickly interrupted and she growled with annoyance.

"Rice rhymes with Ice and actually fits in quite well!" Yaroslavl had stated with his deranged and slightly sinister smile. But he had been met with glaring eyes and had just blinked his twinkling blue orbs at his captain. With a grunt like a man who'd been interrupted when watching the sports, Rin returned to her chant, her voice deepening as she focused on her disguise and let some of her spiritual powers pass into the mirror frame.

"Okay, from the land of ice to the land of blossoms, a world of white to a world of rose, time has ripped us aside and the land was long ago divided and untied. The centuries have passed and the rust has faded, blood and bitterness sealed you shut but desperation and forgiveness may wedge you open! From the land of the great bear to the land of the crane, the door of death and the world Between must open now and forget its purpose. Open door, open to the Rukongai and the Seretei, realm of the Shinigami, so that the lands of death can be one, once more!"

Rin gave a low sigh of relief, her arms having stretched out to fit the frame of the door and make the chant seem more powerful, but nothing happened. She waited, a twitch in her eyebrow suddenly appearing as Igor clapped with boredom at her attempt. Then Rin quickly kicked the door with annoyance, how could it not have worked? It wasn't her fault the chant was such a useless one, she couldn't even remember half of the ones she'd been taught in Reaper Academy, and this one had been on a piece of paper on the brim of her hat too! Titan just gave a low sigh and decided to be of help, with a gentle brush of his knuckle, he tapped the door. There was a heavy whoosh feeling, and the left side of the mirror shot off with Rin attached to it and bashed her into one of the payphones. But within a second Rin was on her feet, snarling like a deranged and rabid dog, and then stomping into the tunnel, barking as she passed Titan.

"THANK YOU TITAN! SHUT UP ZANDER! STOP MUSING IGOR! AND YAROSLAVL STOP BLUSHING!"

The inside was a strange experience, but one that Rin was not bothered by. She had ignored the laughter of Zander, who'd collapsed in a heap and was wetting himself and had begun to pace into the wormhole like void of blue, black, and purple. Around her the walls seemed to throb as if alive, she had often wondered if the whole idea of being born was like that! Certainly, perverted Zander and creepy Yaroslavl followed her in with a quick snort and mention how the walls felt as comfortable as the inside of a woman… This worried Rin, as she was still pretending to be a man and needed to stay focused, as well as made Titan scoot behind her with a shudder. Last in was Igor, and he made a quick hand gesture with his left hand and his index and ring finger to seal the portal behind them. Then he was pacing to Rin's side, and suddenly he made a little sound of terror as, like the other members of the squad, he began to remember things as he walked, but worst of all, he was seeing Rin's memories….

"I thought I was in for a good day, but I don't like the feel of this, Rin! If I didn't know better, I'd say there's a captain fighting somewhere near the squad barracks, but I don't know what he's fighting. Certainly there hasn't been any alarm calls otherwise 4th Seat Matsumoto would have appeared to look for me, and I'm sure Captain Urahara would've have hollered at you!" Ryuhiko Uso, or rather, Shoji Ninel, had muttered with a scowl upon his young face as he had looked out across the rooftops at the Seretei. He stood beside his slightly older twin sister, Rintakara, as they had been meeting up to go for a practice with one another at the training grounds. It had been a good morning for them after-all, Rin's trainer, Kisuke Urahara, had been promoted to Captain of twelfth squad, and Rin would be joining him there, unseated as always! But even so, Rin would still be cleaning eleventh squad barracks every Saturday morning, after the wildness, and would have to remain on monitoring duties of the prisoner Mayuri every morning like she had done that morning. Only this morning the news had reached her brother, 3rd Seat of 10th squad and their dear friend Rangiku Matsumoto first, and she had painted their squad numbers in green on their faces, claiming that they both had looked so alike that morning, but the mirth of the day had gone.

"That spiritual pressure, it couldn't be… ARGH! Did you hear that? That last burst and that scream, it was eleventh squad's captain, I'd know that beast's spiritual pressure anywhere. But the other…" Rintakara had growled through the sudden waves and bursts of spiritual pressure that had swarmed other the barracks and grabbed their hearts, hard. The scream had been incredibly high and animalistic, the sound maybe even a demon might make as it was kicked back into hell, who knew; it was not natural. But Rin's eyes, though she swooned with the pressure waves, wobbled and throbbed like her heart as she felt a slight pang of terror and yet a familiar excitement at this new deeper power that had caused the scream!

"Let's get down there, and fast! That sounded like their captain's sword dying, and I don't think its death's been quiet!" Shoji had growled through gritted teeth as he had grasped his sister's shoulder and held her on the rooftop. Even his ears were ringing at the sound of the screech, and his eyes were wide with fear. Something inside his stomach knotted, telling him, as it had to Rin, that this new and intense pressure was more dangerous and yet more familiar then he wanted it to be. Once the air cleared of the seeming fog of strangling black fire, the pair were bounding over the rooftops of the courtyard near ninth squad and rushing toward tenth and eleventh squad's courtyards. Upon reaching the scene of the disaster, they spotted the crowds and could smell blood in the air, and then they noticed the official that was standing near the opening into the barrack's courtyard, it was Captain Tousen.

"What's happened Captain Tousen? We felt the pressure as if someone had just died!" The twins had called out in unison as they had bounded down from the roves and amongst the gathering crowds. Their eyes had been wide with fear; no one could have mistaken that scream for anything other then a dying sword, and the eleventh squad members that were around the pair seemed fearful too. Other squad members were pressing closer and begging for details, other strained their ears to listen for Captain Kaname Tousen's response.

"Eleventh Squad now has a new Captain, though I wish it were not the case. This creature showed no remorse let alone justice in his killing of the previous. I do not think the others will be too pleased either, but for now this stranger from your home is the new captain. Strangely enough, he boasts the surname 'Zaraki', surely that is a title only you two can posses?" The blind captain had muttered half-heartedly, but the twins could feel the fear in his voice and the anger that shook his fists as he turned to walk from them. Rin's eyes focused on him leaving, ignoring Shoji's disgust at someone using the title, but then they both jumped with terror at the loud cry of a squad member.

"Kenpachi Zaraki, you Bastard!" Rin had recognised that voice immediately, it had been Maki Ichinose. At that early time in her qualified soul reaper life, she had found herself in the position of Maki's girlfriend, and indeed no one could have mistaken their love for one another back then. But the sound of him bursting in outrage panicked Rin, and it had panicked Shoji too!

"Let us through, please my friends. We need to see this. What's going… on?" Shoji had begun as he and his sister pressed through the crowd to try and reach an area where they could see quite clearly, but that was when he froze in terror. For some reason the crowds were all silenced by another slight addition of the heavy choking spiritual pressure. Shoji found himself half crouching beside a few of squad eleven, his eyes stinging from tears that had formed by the pressure. He did not need to move further.

"Oh my God… How… How can this be? He's…" Rin began to mutter as she stepped away from beside her brother and closer to the front of the crowd. This time no one stopped her or pushed her back. Everyone was afraid, but at the same time, they were also a little confused.

"It's him, isn't it? It's the man that brought you back to the house when you were ill. It's the man who was a friend to you." Shoji muttered softly toward his sister, whose eyes had suddenly become as wide as saucepans. Nearby Maki was still trying to get out of the restraints of his fellow squad members, he had ignored anything Rin had done, he had not even noticed she'd arrived. But now that Shoji recognised the man, he was even more insulted by the choice of surname, though he was unwilling to meet such a terrifying death for saying anything.

"Yeah…" Rin began, in a daze she moved forward slightly, and her brother was a little more worried. But then suddenly, something childish and indeed quite wonderful seemed to light up in Rin's face. For a moment she forgot who and how old she was as well as where she stood. With the brightest smile imaginable on her face and a voice filled with delight, she waved a hand at the new captain and called out to him. "Hey it's me! I don't know if you remember, but I talked to you a few times when I was a kid! It's great to hear what your name is now!"

Silence rained supreme and everyone was staring at Rin as she lowered her hand. Even Maki had frozen with terror and turned to look at his girlfriend. But though the face of her old friend had turned to look at her, the expression was that of boredom and unconcern. As if a tiny little fly had buzzed too near his ears, the great figure of Kenpachi Zaraki had just paced ahead of the squad, ignorant to the embarrassment and the feeling of betrayal he had left upon her.

In the distance there was an ominous glow, and Igor could hear Jessica's heart racing with panic, and yet also how excited Hilde was. His eyes glinted at her as she seemed to laugh and grin at the sight of the villagers approaching the old castle's bridge. They would be inside in a matter of minutes and he would be slaughtered. But though Igor had no fear of death in any form, he was fearful for Jessica. She was not a Bounto, not a vampire of any kind, but she would be called a witch for standing at his side. This was all because some reckless Bounto visiting the area had murdered living humans without fear, though his body was ageing from it!

"I warned you, Hilde!" Igor's fangs suddenly appeared and his face seemed to turn almost ghoulish as the anger triggered his hunger. Unlike the other Bounto, being half-soul reaper meant Igor needed to feed off soul reapers alone! But the soul reaper blood had made him strong, and he had lasted fifty years without a feast on a departed soul or a reaper. He was angry now, his younger half-sister had betrayed him to the people, and they would want revenge for killings he had not made. But his sunk back from the window calmed slightly y the gentle embrace of Jessica against his shoulder.

"It's no use now, they all know what you are, and they'll kill you for it! Then we will be rid of your foolish Bounto blood from this land for a long time! You'll never be allowed back into the real world and the Soul Reapers can go about their business ignored by humans and unmolested by vampires like you!" Hilde hissed angrily and she pointed her rigid fingers at her elder half-brother accusingly. Though Hilde was no a soul reaper, for she had little spiritual powers, she knew what her brother was now, and she wanted him and his peasant or rather harlot of a lover out of her castle!

"Then I must leave to the other side, and you will have to join me, Jessica. Otherwise some terrible things might happen if they find you here without me. I could not forgive myself if they ever hurt you my dear, and I know it's a lot to ask, but will you cross over with me, and be rid of this all?" Igor muttered softly to the delicate and beautiful form of the young blonde peasant girl he had fallen for. Patiently Jessica nodded her head and stepped toward him as he began to form a large gate out of the air with his hands. His eyes turned hastily toward a Quincy servant he had in the corner, one of his old friends, and they ignored the questioning face of his half-sister. "Please, Grunewald, will you fire an arrow through this. There's a secret passage to the left of the chapel area. They will not harm a member of the Ancient Holy Quincy order; they will believe I bewitched you. As for my sister, I will leave her to them!"

"Get the Beast! Kill him! Stake the vile one!" The villagers' cries echoed around the castle as they began to bash on the doors and gates with great wood beams, attempting to get in and remove Igor from their home. But Igor simply sighed deeply and then turned to look to his beloved, eyes soft despite the fear. He stroked at Jessica's beautiful face and then turned her toward the entrance the Qunicy helper had created for them. Obediently, the beautiful Jessica followed her master in, Grunewald turned and left, and suddenly Igor froze on the edge of the entrance as his foolish sister lunged after him.

"Get back here Igor! You can't leave me behind! I'm stronger then you and more noble!" She screeched like a banshee and tried to barge past him. But Igor's strong hands grasped her by the neck and held her steady. She bit at him with her fearsome canines and scratched with the talon-covered fingers she'd spent so much time prepare for the elegant balls. Her eyes looked up at Igor's filled with dreaded fear and regret. But Igor's eyes were cold and slate-coloured with his hatred for her deed.

"Goodbye, foolish creature. If you're so strong, then deal with these people on your own." With that said, Igor flung her aside gently and she crashed into the bookcase. Her back hitting the wood reverberated around the castle as the doors of the gate mirrored her reaction, the peasants were in. As Hilde looked mournfully toward her brother, she realised he was already gone and the portal was too small for her to do little more then scream at him!

"NO! You can't leave me! Brother! IGOR! HELP ME!"

"We survived Claude! Isn't that amazing? But… But how? Why… Why am I lying on the ground when I'm standing next to you now?" The soft brown eyes of the younger lad watered as he looked at his body on the ground, and yet he was confused. He began to weep with terror as he looked at his hands that remained the same and that his clothes were no longer damp. His long ginger locks still remained on his head; they were not trapped with the mud of the riverside. As he started to cry, the young boy looked at his older, bearded brother, who stood looking at him solemnly. "But… I'm dead? You… You saved us! You can still see both of me, can't you brother?"

"Yes, Clarence, I can still see you. But you don't want to know why, and I don't want you to stay here. There is another world you must go to now, one that will keep you safe and protected from the disease that had taken our parents. Please… Leave me here." Claude said knowingly as he looked toward the many bodies of younger men and people emerging on the river edge where he had dragged his baby brother ashore. But Clarence merely stared at him with horror.

"I don't understand…" Clarence begun, but there was nothing more to say as he watched his brother's eyes shudder and vibrate with excitement and the fangs start to emerge. No! Claude was a vampire? But he'd just saved them from a flood and vampires weren't supposed to be able to swim! Plus… He must be dead too, because so was Clarence. But then Claude's words were one that made Clarence shriek!

"LEAVE NOW!"

"Are you all okay? All of you were calling out in your sleep; I was surprised the trip shocked you all so much. I guess we all had some kind of flashback, but you all looked shattered and fearful? Something upset you?" Yaroslavl questioned in an almost sinister and mocking tone, his eyes open and glowing with his fears for them, yet his face still crooked in an evil smile. He looked at Rin who was still shuddering and seeming to blink with confusion, obviously the knock into the ground had caused her eye to close itself again!

"I take it I wasn't alone in my flashback about being betrayed? Only I thought my brother was standing right by me and I was a kid again. Weird what you can gain from such things sometimes isn't it? I could just remember when my brother Claude told me I was dead and that I needed to escape him because he was a Bounto. Odd huh? To think, it's been almost four-hundred year since anyone's called me Clarence!" Titan snorted as he pulled himself onto his feet and scraped the dirt from his clothes. He looked to his side where poor Zander was still trying to recover from his own experience. It was not easy to put such thoughts to the back of your mind of course, but when it had been locked away for so long, the exact details could be worse then when the betrayal had first been made. Titan picked up his friend by the shoulder and steadied him, helping him regain his breath by patting his back gently. "You alright Zander?"

"No, I could still feel the Captain in mine, though it could have been right there no one would've doubted it. I was sure I was there a hundred years ago and that bitch Captain Sofia sold me into the hands of the Bulgarian Soul Reapers for a fistful of gold and a chance to escape. She had been like a mother to me and yet without hesitation when they had said they'd be interested in purchasing me, she just gave me up. I don't want to remember that time anymore! I am too scared to even say any more!" Zander's features had gone pallid, he looked worse then death and Titan gave him a gentle hug, trying to calm his shaking friend. Mercenaries always had a reason to be what they were, betrayal and a need for revenge was just one reason. But as Zander shuddered beside his best friend, Igor managed to right himself as he used a nearby scrub to pull himself up and turned to Yaroslavl. He was confused by the fact that their other companion did not even seem to be shocked by the experiences of the past.

"Incidentally, Yaroslavl, what did you think of? I recalled my half-sister giving me and my love up to the villagers and then leaving her to die. Zander had his teenage terrors, Titan had his childhood nightmare, and Rin… Well Rin probably remembered something about her brother, who knows. What was yours? I know you've had several moments of betrayal. Would it have been the one where your boss suddenly decided you were such a good torturer he had to torture you? Was it when your wife left you for another man? Or was it when your father tried to drown you as a child? I don't mean to sound cruel, but I'm eager to know which would have left you so apathetic when the rest of us are still in shock." Igor growled gently with annoyance, the hatred he had felt in his heart still vivid and strong, he did not mean to be rude but he was trying to understand where and what had happened.

"Oh, nothing I haven't come to terms with." He smiled benevolently and the others looked at him with nervous eyes. No matter what they had hoped to gain from Yaroslavl in terms of his history and past, he would probably never reveal to them. All they knew was that he was smart, had come from the Ukraine, and had a terrible fear of drowning in lakes ever since he fell in through a frozen pond and his dog died of hypothermia after saving him. That and that Yarol had owned animals before and was quite fond of experimenting on humans and their like rather then a white purpose-bred lab rat.

They looked around at the Rukongai, most of the patrons carried on like any other day, but a few had turned around to stare at the strangers. These that stared understood what words were spoken of course, it was one of the joys of being part of a spiritual world in which everyone was, in a sense, united. But at the many things they had heard, the nervous looking peasants had begun to back away toward their homes and the main market. By luck of course they had landed in Area One, meaning that they were in the safest part of the Rukon District, but also that they did not really have anywhere they could go and get a strong drink without been questioned or feared. In that manner Rin wondered if they had been better off landing in her old Zaraki home or even Hanging Dog; but she thanked the technology she wore for keeping her gender a secret and quickly felt at the Yin-Yang bandanna she wore as a mask over her mouth.

"I think we need to explain ourselves a little, some of them look a little worried. If the Shinigami here are anything like you informed her, Captain Ninel, then they'll react very quickly to a Ryoka presence. But I'm a little nervous of this place, its right outside the gates and yet it still seems so derelict, and that gap between the town and the white buildings of the Sereitei looks untrustworthy." Titan snorted gently, he was a little shaken by what had happened as he looked at the curious people, but he was not used to this place. Everything smelt of rice and rather quite plain things, there was no scent of pork sausages or beautiful bread and it was unsettling for him.

"They can ignore us for all I care! It doesn't concern them or any of their so-called representatives, like the Shiba Clan. I only need to see the head of the Sereitei and we've got the pardon here to get in, so we should not have a problem and I'm not hanging around. I don't see any Soul Reapers about so lets just head straight toward the gates. But be careful because the walls may suddenly appear in front of us to bar out entrance, it depends how their security is at the moment." Rin snarled gently as she looked toward the seemingly glowing white buildings that echoed prosperity and academics, there was nothing wholesome about them though, and Rin felt a slightly nervous slip crawling into her mind to keep her alert and on her toes. Igor noticed this quickly and felt it necessary to comment on it.

"You seem a little more on edge then before, Captain, are you sure you don't want us to do this quickly? We can go in and you can just sit at that tea shop over there and we'll come back for you." Igor spoke carefully, he knew he needed to act like Rin was a man here, after-all, the disguises and all that effort, which had gone into the basic technologies that Rin wore to protect her identity would be wasted. There were simpler items she could use of course these days, but somehow the sentimental value of those items had over-run Rin's initial thoughts of them and Igor suddenly felt a cool sweat down his back as Rin took the eye-patch from her cape pocket and put it on before growling at him in her masculine manner.

Rin simply waved a hand, she did not need the sympathies of others, and she certainly did not care for whatever Igor thought about her in this land! She looked at the teashop and though masked her lips curled and she felt annoyed by it all. Rin did not care what this land had now, the mission was hers and her team were there in case something bad happened. Rin's initial thoughts were that of suspicion and annoyance they just wanted to see her get freaked out and run! But as she narrowed her eyebrows and was about to retort, the desperate sound of crying kids made Rin's ovaries squeal and her attitude suddenly soften.

"Hey! Give me back that candy! Give it back bully! I was given it by a friend!" A child was crying as he grabbed at his packet of sweets that another child had latched onto. Neither was going to give it up, they were obviously starving orphans, both were wretchedly skinny and wearing tatty clothing. The urchins' faces were coated in mud and though they looked wretched, they had obviously not been dead too long as their clothes were of a more modern variety then the usual rags or kimonos of other orphans. Rin found herself compelled to go over to them and see what she might be able to do to help out.

"No it's mine!" A taller and similar looking scruffy urchin growled as he pulled at the little sac of paper in the little one's hands. The two of them were being ignored by the locals of course, luckily North Rukon was not too bad a place to be an urchin, someone was always kind enough to offer you a bit of shelter or food, but fighting amongst each other was not going to hurt. In Zaraki Rin had seen kids killed by adults who were also starving, had seen the argument, and taken the candy for themselves but met some slight resistance. She had also seen starving children abandoned by parents who just could not get them food, few of those kids ever lived.

"Hey, hey! Careful now children, you don't want to be fighting over things here! So many people are unfortunate both living and dead not to even have tasted candy and it is a rare gift indeed." Rin snorted with a masculine air. The kids looked at her man-disguise curiously and their eyes seemed to widen as she patted their heads and pulled out another packet of food from her robes. With a gentle sigh she spoke again. "To live in this world we must forget selfishness and learn to stand together. Being independent or alone is terrible, but at least if there is one other like you, you're not really alone. If you can share this food between you and share the candy equally, then you will have learnt something today that might aid you in the future Be careful."

Some women had been watching and giggled nervously at Rin, she simply snorted at them and turned back to her companions, only to freeze. She had forgotten for a brief second that she was disguised as a man and that those women had been interested in her! Rin growled and groaned with annoyance as she looked toward her fellows, stepping toward them and shaking her head with annoyance. How interesting she must have looked to them? What was going on in their minds, she did not want to know! Rin's mind had started to drip off and that was dangerous, as the children thanked her and she stepped beside Igor, suddenly her covered eye began to throb and she knew her post-traumatic stress-disorder was kicking in and she was going to have another flashback!

"DAMN!"

"Get away from them Yachiru! They're filthy little urchins!" Lord Uso was snapping at her again. He got so temperamental whenever Shoji was away on his studies and it was just him and Rin together with the servants. After Lord Uso's wife had died their relationship had been even more strained and aggressive as no one was there to attempt to teach Rin in the ways of women, but Lord Uso did have a tendency to stalk Rin whenever she left the house.

"But I was one too…" Yachiru scowled at her adopted father, not caring for his words as she tried hard to loosen his grip on her wrist. Rin had been playing with her six new friends on the outskirts of the dark forests around the house. Before playing she had shared food and water with them and they had all exchanged names and jokes. Though she had not intended it, Yachiru had become the ringleader and her companions listened to her intently and without fear. But now they cowered away from the tall man in the expensive clothing with a voice like an angry snake.

"Listen to me girl! I took you in to prevent you from returning to a life of death! Don't spit on my kindness! Now get back inside, sit with the nanny, and work on your etiquette, and for the love of the Sereitei wear a kimono not the working clothes of a field man!" Lord Uso's hand gripped tightly once more and he made a jerking movement backwards. This caught Rin off guard and she was drawn back toward him. He grabbed her shoulder as well now and turned her fully around so she would move.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now, but I'll see you again…" Rin had begun to cry but had put on a brave face for her companions as she had been dragged off. It was one of the few times Lord Uso had ever been able to control her so easily, but at the time Rin had been very keen on one of her different friends.

The day was dull and the lessons even more so that Rin had found herself trying to see how many times she could paint the outline of her hand on the paper without the teacher noticing. Time passed and hour floated away as Rin fell into dreaming and ignored the questions being asked to her, until a cane was snapped down in front of her face. She paid attention for a little while longer, only being interested in the mentions of why at certain times of the month it was necessary for her to bleed so that she would eventually produce a horde of children. But soon the sun sank to the three o'clock stage and so Rin decided it was time to find her special friend.

"I'm going to pick some flowers; I'll be back before its dark!" Rin half-lied and her teacher sighed gently. Well, flowers were feminine and working with them was as girly as Rin would get. Her teacher let her go and Rin quickly scuttled off, still wearing the kimono of red she'd been forced into.

She travelled into the woods as fast as she could, but often Rin would be distracted by someone in need of food and try to help them out. She always made a habit to take food with her or clean water in the gourds she could carry. It was golden in the sky before she reached a lake, surrounded by the strange trees with their purple blossoms. She checked about quickly and spotted the lean, tall, long-haired figure pressed against the tree trunk. There were fresh cuts up his arms, and part of his tattered clothes had blood on. It seemed he'd been forced to fight again, but Rin knew he would never loose!

"It's you again? I thought they'd have tied you to the house like they do with prize sheep or what not. You look a little taller today, but that dress doesn't suit you." He snorted again, and the big figure just sighed. Rin was a little nervous, he did not seem willing to move much, and Rin guessed he might have been in a lot of pain from his battle. But she had something to cheer him up.

"Yep! I hoped to find you and give you something else to eat!" Rin smiled sweetly and once more the shadowy figure looked confused. She pulled out some rice and some random vegetables she'd been able to snatch and passed them to him, giving him a bowl and settling down beside him with a small bowl of her own rice. He was surprised of course that she had been so kind to do this, but he could not refuse it, even though part of him was screaming to reject the help.

They had eaten together and for some reason Rin had been more encouraged to use her manners around him, even though he never did. He'd wolfed down the food as if it were his last meal, and yet Rin understood why. After a little while in silence, with her carefully admiring his wounds and occasionally suggesting he should wash one or two so they did not get infected, the figure broke the silence. He turned to her and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"You know, I haven't decided on a name yet… I don't think I know enough of my strength to have the title I want. I know few names, people do not talk to me, though I listen to them. I have heard one name I like, but for that I will have to become a Soul Reaper..." There was disdain in his tone, those born outside of class in the outer Rukongai districts were often not wanting involvement with the Sereitei. The Soul Reapers after-all had been the ones to send them to the Rukon-gai, or they simply did nothing to maintain an order or to protect when there was need for it. Those orphans in Zaraki that wanted to be Soul Reapers were often the fools with good hearts that starved to death because they gave away so much to others and could not survive harshness.

"Really? Do you actually believe that?" Rin questioned nervously, but her companion just shrugged again. The girl looked out to the water of the lake that was covered in water lilies of soft white and yet golden water. She remembered something her teacher had mentioned about golden lilies being a kind of wishing-device in some old stories. So, Rin assumed she might just go looking to give her new friend a bit of a boost. "I'm going to find a golden lily for you!"

"Don't go in there! You'll soak your dress, silly kid! Don't go looking for something not there!" He almost bellowed at her, but obviously he was in pain. He'd tried to strain out toward her, to pull her away, but been forced to slump back. Rin had no fear of the water though, she simply waded in and began her search, careful not to go too far. But after a god half hour of searching she could not find it and quickly waded out, soaked and dripping but smiling as ever.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find it. But then again I only wanted to give it to you, so I suppose it would only appear if you looked. Is your back okay? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Rin asked as she stepped out to go and check if he was okay, but he seemed to back away toward the tree once more. But before she could do anything else, there was a loud series of sounds and Rin knew she was in trouble already.

"Yachiru! Yachiru! Where the hell are you brat?"

"Oh God… My head's spinning! Someone please hit me with something, please do it!" Rin whined as she tried not to fall over, and Yaroslavl smiled again and then punched her in the shoulder. Rin just spun around and then punched Yaroslavl back in the shoulder. Yaroslavl fell over and Igor blinked gently in surprise.

"Rin… You've got to stop spacing out like that! We've got to get going or its going to be very strange when we turn up really late!" Igor half growled at his captain with annoyance. It was not that he didn't appreciate that being somewhere she hadn't been in about sixty-years was a surprising event, it was more that he did not want Rin to keep having flashbacks and be left in a dazed state. It would have been hilarious though for Rin to give the letter to the Head Captain of Seretei with eyes rolled to the ceiling and a line of drool sliding down her lips.

"Let's head toward the walls now, Captain! Have you got the note?" Zander mused, stretching an arm back and itching his shoulders. As for a flashback, he ignored it as it nagged at his memories again, sure that Captain Ninel was giving off some weird vibe. Captain Sofia may have handed him over, but he'd been thrown in a cell where his old pal Ulrich had been and the Quincy had broken him out and run with him for ages. But as Rin slowly removed the letter from one of the many pockets, the squad members sighed and began to approach the wall. This would be over in a flash and without any hassle from anyone.

Within seconds of approaching, the great white walls had come slamming down and the squad had lunged behind their captain in terror. They had not expected such a thing, but then again the Eurasian society was not as closed off. When they watched the entrance for a brief moment, Rin pointed a finger upward and suddenly a giant cloud covered the sun. The cloud then dropped in front of them, and Zander screamed in horror at the sight of a man a hundred-times the height of Titan. Even Titan was shuddering, but Yaroslavl just shrugged as he elbowed the captain.

"Well now, I haven't had a challenge in a long while, who are you? What are you doing here? Do you know that I am the guardian of this gate and only those who defeat me may enter?" Jidombo growled happily as he removed his two axe-like weapons in preparation for a battle. He had not fought in a while and he was looking forward to it. But soon his thick eyebrows knotted and his mouth dropped open when one of the men below him, the one wearing a weird hat, lifted a small piece of paper to his face.

"I am Captain Ninel, a Mercenary from the Eurasian Soul Society. I have come under special request of Head Captain Yamamoto with the concern of my Society's government and an ancient alliance between Yamamoto and my master Schatzstein. This piece of paper confirms it, and I apologise that we are awfully late." Captain Ninel spoke with the deep voice laced with a Russian accent that was her normal disguise voice. This confused Jidombo and it took a few minutes silence and then a blink before he tried to speak.

"Uhh...What?"

"It's as I say, I would not lie to such a grand gate-keeper as you. I was sent by Lord Schatzstein, who is an old friend of Captain Yamamoto; to come here for help. It's all written in correct Japanese Kanji on this document followed by the German version, as it is a print out of the file copy." Rin rolled her eyes, but under her mask she smiled. Jidombo was used to challenges, not official letters, and he certainly was not literate. Just looking at the squiggles would confirm what she said.

"Let me see that…" Jidombo grunted and leant down to pick up the tiny strip of paper, no bigger then an eraser in his giant hands. A crowd was gathering to see what was going on, curious that there was a confrontation, and as yet, no battle. As Jidombo blinked, he listened as Ninel made an excuse that there had been a letter sent to all the gate guardians by the officials. This seemed to clench the deal as Jidombo winced. He'd been given a tonne of paperwork a while back and he had never looked at it, he was not about to appear as if he was behind in work to these "officials". With a grunt he nodded and gave Captain Ninel the letter back. "Ah, yes... I remember a note about it. We were informed it was for a different date entirely. I'll just let the walls go and you can go through without a fuss."

"Glad to see the message came through in part, at least…" Captain Ninel growled happily, a smug grin widening beneath the mask. There was a snigger behind her from Zander; obviously the rest of the squad had guessed what she was up to as well. Then, with a gentle bow, which made Jidombo blush for some reason, Rin said her thanks. "Thank you, Great Gate-Keeper. I will report your service to General Yamamoto with admiration for your obedience and swift action."

The great walls raised themselves up and Captain Rin Ninel stepped in without any trouble from the gatekeeper or any of the soul reapers on the other side. In fact, there seemed to be no one on the other side and in a quick motion, they flash stepped further into the grounds and kept against the shadows of the walls. Better to be safe then sorry. After a moment, Rin paused, sniffed, and then looked to where a tall white tower shafted the sky, it was amazingly phallic for a prison. She pointed toward it gently and encouraged her companions to follow her in a slow and unnoticeable manner.

They trudged around for a little while longer, and to Igor, who could feel every change in his captain's attitude, the excitement and the grief were starting to panic him. They passed buildings with odd markings and symbols and they also passed a soul reapers who were too drunk to notice them. At the sight of these burly beings, some of which were gambling in other corners of the roads they passed, Rin could not help but give a gentle chuckle. Though Igor was curious to know if these were beings Rin might know, as he opened his mouth to speak, a gloved finger pressed the tip of his nose. Rin spun around, and glared at him, her weird aura burning in her eyes alone so she would not release any spiritual pressure.

"Keep quiet, if you don't make a fuss I won't make a scene. They're not known to me, just the usual riff-raff of Eleventh Squad. They're supposed to be on guard duty but the Eleventh Division and more relaxed then the bar-tenders at a strip-joint." Rin snorted, and there was a gentle chuckle from her followers. They continued on and had to slow down as they passed a rather more active, in the sense of standing up and groaning, pair of guards who were talking. At the mention of their Captain Zaraki, the hairs rose on Rin's neck and she shuddered nervously as the group snuck past in a flash.

"If you want to talk about it, I've got keen enough ears! We know it's something you're afraid of, so why not be honest and say you'd rather get out of here now and let Igor and myself handle this transaction. You've told us where to go after-all." Yaroslavl grinned curiously but Rin just snorted. When they'd moved to a seemingly empty area, where none of them could sense any other soul-pressure, they paused for a rest. Then Rin turned to Yaroslavl...

"No thank you, Yarol. It's a kind offer indeed but I never give up on my mission. Besides..." Rin paused, a hand raised as she sniffed the air. There was a sudden rippling and they all crouched in preparation for battle at the appearance of some soul reapers. Rin managed to breathe one word before being interrupted. "Peevooh..."

"Well, well, well…. Fancy some Ryoka turning up here again? Only this time there was not even an alarm…. Looks like we're going to have a bit of fun…" It was a voice that screamed confidence despite the fact that the owner was bald, had some red blush or paint on the top of his cheeks, and that his companion looked like a very flat woman. Igor, Yaroslavl, Zander, and Titan gripped the hilts of their swords, ready to forget about where they were and start a battle. But it was Rin's curt reply that made them slightly curious.

"Are you so sure?" Rin seemed to purr with delight and Igor felt the confidence burst around him. The rest of the squad grinned slightly menacingly, but they could see that their adversaries were just as serious. Only, they all noticed there was a curious gleam in Rin's left eye. The captain quite obviously knew these two beings. Not only that, but she quickly motioned to them not to bother with swords and instead stood up straight with a gentle grunt. "I don't think we'll be with you very long. I'll give you a brief warning; Get out of our way, you see we're not here for trouble, or get ready to be thrashed."

_**Next Time: Part Four – Day of the Forsaken Return **_

_Finally, some action for you all! After entering the Sereitei things looked to be going their way, until Ikkaku and Yumichika turned up. Almost a rendition of the Ichigo situation, Ikkaku and Yumichika are about to fight, and regret it. With only two flash-backs from Rin this time, you will actually read some fighting. Then you'll get a little preview into what an Annual Captain's Meeting with General Yamamoto is like... _


	4. 4 Day of the Forsaken Return

**Part Four: Day of the Forsaken Return**

"You've got a pretty big mouth there to be shooting off such harsh words. Especially considering we haven't been introduced yet, and I make a point of knowing an enemy's name before I have the pleasure of killing them." Each word left Ikkaku Madarame's mouth as if drooled, his tongue edging at the corner of his lips; this whole speech was turning him on. Beside him, Yumichika Ayasegawa was doing his usual daisy-eyed stare, as if he was focusing on his reflection in the back of Ikkaku's baldhead. But Ikkaku's interest seemed to be spurred by the strange accent of his opponent, perhaps they were in the Sereitei for the fame of those present. "No doubt you've heard of me already, 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame of 11th Squad, the most ruthless fighting unit in Soul Society."

"At least in this Soul Society." Ikkaku's eyebrow twitched at the comment, it had not come from the previous speaker. He gawked for a second, almost as if he were urging the speaker to repeat it. Right on cue, Igor sighed, rolled his shoulders and then yawned. "You're no better then slack-jawed yokels in this place. Have you never stepped off this island? Your society is so up-tight it doesn't even have a mercenary unit, just annoying outside citizens that don't know the first thing about greeting visitors."

"What did you call me?" Igor's comments had not been directed at Yumichika, but he knew the slack-jaw comment had hit the pretty-boy on a personal level, it was meant to. Not too long ago, after Igor's whole depressive and suicidal I'm a mistake of nature phase, he'd turned pretty-boy and been hammered with so many insults from his best friend, that being Rintakara, that he'd given up just to save her from loosing her voice. That, and young Sascharissa had been getting older and starting to look at him in the wrong kind of light.

"You heard! Goodness me, you're hair is in an awful state. It's no wonder you're not already bald like your companion! Such awful taste of uniform and colour coordination too! I mean, orange on black? It looks like Gull just hacked a load up on you!" The grin was what made Rin grin herself. When someone was easy to pick on, there was that toothy grin on Igor's face. It was the one that made him look like a wolf, though his ever-present fangs pressed tightly on his soft lower lips. It was then insisted by a gently licking of the fang, a sign that meant quite clearly there was a fight coming.

"UGH! I cannot stand for such rudeness from two weirdoes with an obvious lack of style!" Yumichika growled as he drew his sword, ready to fight.

"Enough talking! I'd love to see these two clowns get past the best of 11th squad. Just tell us your names and lets get this over with!" Ikkaku issued the challenge and the grins emerged ever more, though Rin's remained hidden beneath her mask.

"Captain Rin Ninel and Lieutenant Igor Rasputin of the Schwarzeis Stadt Mercenary Unit, Eurasian Soul Society. Let's dance…" They both growled and in unison their swords were drawn.

Yumichika was the first to react, pulling out the curving sickle of his zanpako-tu and aiming to take off Igor's head. He was surprised when quick as lightning, Igor was in the air as well, and as Yumichika was diving a neat foot was swung and clocked Yumi onto a rooftop. Igor smiled, he hadn't fought another quick opponent in a while, and as Yumi rebounded, slowing on his heels and then darting forward, Igor dodged. As he dodged, Yumichika swung his sword blade around again, the three additional blades extending to catch at least a little flesh if Igor moved, but Igor was ready. When the blades aimed to catch his stomach, the light blue sword shimmered, thing like a fencing blade and caught the scythe edge. As Yumichika recoiled, pulling his arm back to aim another swipe faster then the eye, Igor's blade reappeared, and caught a fleck of hair from Yumichika's fringe as he managed to leap back in time for a lunge. Though Yumi was annoyed, he smiled with amusement as the blade came round and their swords clashed. They were held for a second, and then Igor kicked Yumichika away, to check briefly on his captain.

To be honest, Rin was slightly bored with her opponent. The fight had barely begun and she'd calculated the first two blows and dodged them, guessed the quick lunge and then butted Ikkaku in the side with the bottom of their curling blade. She knew Ikkaku was a lot slower then Igor, but that only meant he was going to use a lot of force in each swing. Not only that, but Ikkaku was one of the smartest fighters she knew, his style of battling was more then equal to her own, falling short only of one person; Ivann…

"You're not from around here, yet I know you've figured me out because you've got an odd glint in that clear eye of yours. Depth perception doesn't seem to be a problem for you." Ikkaku grinned, hoping to catch his opponent off guard with a quick speech, but as he lunged forward again, it was the elbow of his opponent, joined by a swinging kick to his stomach that caught him off guard. As he collapsed onto his back he choked for a second before growling his annoyance. "I don't like dirty fighters, a typical mercenary move I suppose!"

"Not really. You assume me Ryouka, but in all honesty, Mr Madarame, I'm not allowed to kill anyone on this mission. You're just delaying me in delivering a message with Old Man Yama." Rin snorted gently, then she turned her back on him and started walking. At this point her companions, even Igor, leapt to her side, ignoring the two, who were slightly bruised but not damaged, Ikkaku growled in annoyance. "We're not finished, either of us! No fight is over till one of the opponents' swords' break!"

"My Captain has forbidden me to fight more, Mr Ayasegawa. He has reminded me of our mission and thus I must fulfil it or sit in front of the Inquisition for failure!" Igor bowed patiently, and in surprise, Yumichika bowed back. Ikkaku was stunned, but he could see Yumichika's fringe had been trimmed, Igor had a black eye forming, and Yumichika's lip was cut. They were not going to get into a full-blown blood battle when they were equally matched. But Ikkaku assumed his fight still winnable; after all he was not even bleeding!

"Cowardice!" Ikkaku growled as he launched toward Rin. He dodged back and forth, knowing with her back turned, his opponent would probably be smart enough to assume a straight charge. Ikkaku swung his sword, and it came round, heading for Rin's shoulder. But Ikkaku was not surprised when the coiled sword, made so intricately into spirals that it seemed fragile, came to meet and hold it. Rin crouched with one foot outstretched and one knee bent, holding the weight. It was then Ikkaku's eyes glinted and he swung his scabbard around to knock Rin a blow. In a flash though, there was another sword holding Ikkaku's scabbard. Confusion burnt in his eyes and he looked at his own sword, the intricate spiral was missing and what seemed like half a sword was holding him. Then he felt weight pulling him down, arching his back against his permission, Captain Ninel had pressed her weight onto him via the angles of their swords and had back flipped right over Ikkaku. When the sword was released, Ikkaku was given an unceremonious kick in the buttocks to put him to the ground.

Ikkaku's mind was fuddled as his chin grazed the earth. Those swords… There had been one that coiled and then had split, as if two individual spikes had made the coiling? Why was the sword so important? Why was the name Rin now clanging about his head? Ikkaku blinked, his mind filling with memory…

_A/N: Flashback time! __Ducks for safety_

It had been an odd day in 11th squad when Ikkaku had met the "cleaner", in fact he'd heard from one of the other members that Captain Zaraki was fighting a woman in the training area of the squad. That seemed kind of strange, there were no women in Sereitei that would be a match for his captain, let alone even bother trying to fight with him. But Ikkaku had scooted along the rooftops to find out. To his surprise it had been the truth, though the fight was not proper, it was actually a training session.

"Control your swing and you might be able to rebound faster to hit me, Little One." There had been the kind of grin on Captain Zaraki's face that was normally only reserved for when Yachiru had done something to amuse him, like drawn a picture of him killing things. This was new, obviously the captain knew the stranger fighting him, but in one look at the emblem on the opponent's shoulder, Ikkaku choked. Captain Zaraki was teaching a member of squad twelve to control their swings more efficiently? This had to be a weird prank or he was asleep. Ikkaku hopped off the roof and stood beside the wall of the building to watch, surprised that Captain Zaraki must have shooed the others away. His mind started working, who was this woman?

Kenpachi's sword swung in an arch that threw his opponent's arms wide and then flung her backward. Ikkaku grinned, but then he saw the blue hair swing around and the stern face of the fiery woman who was obviously not going to let herself loose. She got up quickly, and managed to parry the next sword swing and dodge to the side. Kenpachi turned to take a stab, the sword tapped his shoulder… No blood at all?

"Lucky shot, but unless you were careful, you couldn't take an opponent that way!" Zaraki snorted and swung around, he grabbed the wrist of his opponent, surprisingly gently, and then swung his sword around to hit her. Instinct hit the woman, she jerked her arm at his grip, still held, but she let her other hand slide over it and something happened to her weirdly shaped sword. As Zaraki's came down, a second sword caught it and the blades began to grind against each other slowly as the faces met and eyes locked with fire. But Ikkaku could swear he saw a slight flush on the girl's cheeks, and when she dared to blink, Kenpachi butted forward, knocking her onto her back. But she managed to fall with her legs up, caught his side, and unfortunately threw him on top of her.

"That explains it!" Ikkaku voiced out loud as he stepped toward the groaning couple. Kenpachi lifted his head, he'd managed to pin his opponent beneath him, both their swords lost on the ground. He looked at Ikkaku as if he was terrified, a look that made Ikkaku grin cheekily. "You're having a bit of fun with a bit of tail! Odd choice though, she's a Mayuri-Pet isn't she?"

"WHAT?" Came the plaintive cry from beneath Kenpachi, he was pushed off her with surprising strength, indicating she'd had a similar situation before and then she stood and glared Ikkaku down. Ikkaku blushed in embarrassment; he could barely meet her brilliant green eyes as he noted how beautiful and almost cute her face was, not to mention how amazing her chest assets were. Kenpachi had good choice, until the voice came at him again and he knew he was very much mistaken. "Repeat that again, Baldy and I'll give you a tail!"

"OH! I know you; you're that chick who Ichinosae wanted to marry! I'd have thought he'd scared you off the eleventh squad hunks?" Ikkaku grinned, he could not help himself and attempted to pose and flex his muscles making it obvious to her that he was shirtless and a good looking man. But though he winked at her, the sword, knotted back together in its strange Alicorn twists, was jabbed toward his face. He noted that, after staring at the design for a few minutes, Kenpachi had been fighting with his shirt open, and the young woman was blushing crimson. But instead of her ending the argument, it was his captain.

"Mind your manners Ikkaku! She's Lord Uso's daughter and our guest. If you dare say anything mean to her, I'll bash you into a wall!" Kenpachi's growl was one that shook Ikkaku to his core. He could not imagine this from his captain, his memory of Kenpachi with women was that of drinking and joking and inevitably getting bored because there was a lack of battle. But to note that girl had title and needed to be treated with respect, that was an oddity. When Kenpachi turned and spoke to Rin in return, his head itching at the back of his head, Ikkaku wondered if he was seeing Kenpachi Zaraki the gawky teenager rather then Kenpachi Zaraki the terrifying war-monger. "Ikkaku didn't mean anything rude. He's just a bit stupid that's all. I hope you'll train with me again soon, it's nice to fight knowing you need to be under full control."

"I'd like to…" Rin had begun but there had been an annoying whining sound, a screech of a bird perhaps, from the 12th squad barracks nearby that called Rin back with amazing rudeness and made her growl in return. "Maybe later, dear friend, I've got to get scolded by my Captain. Bye Kenpachi, bye Ikkaku!"

With that said, Rin was gone in a flash, but she returned and over time she trained with Ikkaku too, even bested him a few times when they thought with a weapon in each hand. Ikkaku had been very fond of Rin, she'd looked after them all, fed and humoured them and he'd sworn Kenpachi had probably been in love with her. But no doubt she had been killed alongside her twin brother all those years ago.

With a growl of newfound annoyance, Ikkaku charged. There was no doubt that this enemy knew something about the situation and it needed to be beaten out of him. Such old memories had been buried away a long ago for all involved. The only memory that was kept alive was that the name could never be mentioned around Captain Zaraki for fear of having your head go through a brick wall, and that at the funeral, Yumichika had blubbed his eyes out and stolen one of Ikkaku's shoulder whilst the other had been occupied by Miss Nemu Kurotsuchi crying.

"MURDERER!" The scream escaped before he could think, and his spiritual pressure burst around them so that Yumichika and Rin's companions were flung onto their backsides. Yumichika had no idea what was wrong but Ikkaku was very determined and was running at his enemy. Rin just sighed, sometimes the insults got old, and when Ikkaku turned to Hozukimaru for help, Rin threw one of her blades. Ikkaku dodged it, but Rin said something and the blade came back. Hozukimaru was cut in half in a flash and Ikakku's face was spurting blood. But Ikkaku did not stop his charge until a foot came to his face, and as he jolted in the air, a fist hit his crotch. It was over, Ikakku curled up with a grunt on the ground; but Rin was not willing to drop it and she lunged forward with one of her nailed hands…

"Let's go, I don't think Captain Yamamoto will mind us interrupting his toe-nail clipping session!"

_A/N: I Lied! There was only one flashback and this one was short! Not bad, two chapters in a day, I'm getting better!_

_**Next Time – Part 5: Dance to a Skirmish – Brother to a Freak**_

_Ikkaku's face is about to interrupt a captain's meeting and the captains are going to get very scared. Who are these rude intruders? Why is Kenpachi missing another meeting? Why does Captain Byakuya Kuchiki find himself glaring at the intruder's bottom with interest? No flashbacks in this part, but I don't think it'll be a long one. The title by the way is in regards to Ikkaku and Mayuri … Find out why, soon! _


	5. Chapter 5

Part Five: Dance to a Skirmish – Brother to a Freak

"Item number eight on today's agenda..." Captain Yamamoto, the practical King of the Japanese Soul Society, was sitting in his throne room (the captain's meeting room) reading items off a long list he'd prepared after last month's meeting. It was just the way of things that there should be a review every month, after-all, some captains had no control over the issues affecting their squads' performance. What annoyed the General was that Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of 11th Squad had decided he was bored with an hour-long lecture and not turned up. It meant an extra complaint would be added to his additional list, currently being scribbled by his forgotten lieutenant, for next month. "The Sereitei will require a new Restaurant Area for the arrival of un-captained soul reapers to prevent mixing with those already in squads. This item was brought up by Captain Kuchiki last month and has been executed. A new cafeteria had been built between thirteenth squad and twelfth with access to outside the Sereitei. Therefore it will service the Rukongai nobles and the members of the Sereitei."

There was a sigh of relief from the seemingly meditating figure of Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of 6th squad, who'd been annoyed last month because Ichigo Kurosaki had been ram-sacking his Mansion's kitchen with help from Byakuya's chef who'd assumed Ichigo had been a favoured squad member, if only because of his address to Captain Kuchiki. It had been a rather localised complaint of course last month, but the other captains had passed it readily as it allowed for additional meetings points compared to barracks and pubs. But Byakuya was alone in his enjoyment of the review, as most of the other captains were falling asleep on numb legs.

There was a noise of surprise and anger from the guards outside the hall. Everyone perked up and strained toward the doors, curious to know what was going on. There were a few clangs, some sounds of what they assumed to be pain, and then there was silence. It was an expectant silence.

"AGH!" CRASH! The front door had a new feature. Ikkaku Madarame's head had just been pushed right through the door with a loud smash and a look of agony upon the 3rd seat. The other captains began to blink with confusion, then with a groan Ikkaku's head was pulled back in. Just as it seemed the chaos was over, he was then bowled through the doors, opening them, and left cart wheeling into a corner of the room. He was left to whine in pain as the captains stood up, grabbed their swords, and stared in horror at a stranger stepping into their meeting room.

"Excuse my rudeness, Captains of the Sereitei, but Mr Madarame and myself were having an argument about who was allowed where. Unfortunately the guards brought up the same points and have been tied up, along with Mr Ayasegawa outside on the steps. My name is Captain Rin Ninel, I'm from the Eurasian Soul Society and I have a plain and simple little message for Head Captain Yamamoto from Lord Schatzstein. My apologies for the delay in delivery."

Blink-blink, it was a strange silence that was mixed with the shock of the stranger appearing, and the odd way this person was dressed. Mix this with the fact that the stranger had a Russian accent, claimed to be from an unknown soul society, and was quite confident in their actions - nothing made sense.

"Mur... Der.. Er?" Ikkaku mouthed through a swelling mouth, a few of his teeth lying beside him forlornly. At this, Captain Ninel rolled his shoulders, snorted gently, and then marched forward between the lines of captains. His four followers stepped inside and stood at the ends of each row, ready to protect their leader. There was still silence and Captain Ninel paused in front of Head Captain Yamamoto and began to fish through his robes and cloak. Captain Kuchiki growled with annoyance and looked at the stranger, his eyes suddenly peeling towards the stranger's buttocks, making him shudder in fear of what he was doing. As he flicked his gaze to the others, even Captain Komamura was sniffing about in curiosity, seemingly just as embarrassed. But the stranger removed a folded piece of paper, held it in both hands, and went onto his knees, lowering his head in proper respect as he presented the message. The captains breathed a slow sigh, maybe this was not as dangerous as it had started to be.

"I still think you should have used the 'This is Sparta' line when you kicked him back through the doors..." The larger of the intruders grunted as he nonchalantly ignored the strange array of captains. He looked to his comrades who nodded their heads but then he realised something. The members of he meeting were looking like fish at feeding time, the same look he'd had when he'd first heard his captain speaking Japanese that day. He had only just realised that the captains present did not understand their language and grimaced. Luckily his captain, turning back to speak German, reassured him.

"Would've been wasted anyway... They don't get out much." Captain Ninel snorted gently and looked back to the stunned faces, waiting for a response and tapping his foot continuously. He was eager to leave already, but something told him there would be no easy retreat from hell. General Yamamoto was flicking through the piece of paper and nodding his head carefully. Rin knew that this meant everything was sorted and calmly stood up. He bowed again then turned around, but the General felt a need to introduce everything to his captains.

"This here is Mercenary Captain Extraordinaire, Captain Rin Ninel, a Russian of astounding fame within Europe. A resident in the German section of the Eurasian Soul Society, the lord there has requested our help due to some political assignation attempts. Fritz Schatzstein is an old friend of mine and I will not refuse a chance to once again unite the soul societies again. But I will need you all to cooperate with this squad." Everything seemed in order, but why did he make motions for Rin to stop trying to run off. Then Yamamoto continued to say something that made Rin's teeth grind in irritation. "But in order to make sure that Lord Schatzstein is kept in good health, Captain Rin's squad will remain here a month in advance and identify any potential hazards... Or spies. So why not hang around and have some of my famous Green Tea?"

Rin's stomach twisted and his face almost turned green at the thought. He was not that stupid and quickly began to explain that they needed to bring the equipment through before they thought of staying. Rin's hope was to be permitted to leave before something might happen to reveal anything more. He had a sneaking suspicion that the letter had probably said more about the squad then was wanted, and the fiery gleam in the old man's eyes made him more nervous.

"I must refuse, we have to return and gain our equipment first. But within a week we will return. We also have personal matters to settle before departing, you understand don't you?" Though Yamamoto nodded, Kuchiki stepped forward and glowered at Captain Ninel. He was trying to gauge whether Ninel was a fraud, friend, or annoyance. His eyes focusing on Rin a little too crassly made teeth grind more and fingers tighten. Rin needed to go now, before he put Byakuya's smug ass through a wall. Turning around and heading out, the comment that swam at him made Rin growl.

"Mercenary? Disloyal creatures that were banned in this Soul Society because of their personal intentions. Perhaps Head Captain Yamamoto wants you to stay so we can see if you are a threat to our harmony..."

"What did you just say, Smug Prick!" Zander snarled, lurching forward and gripping his sword. Though Byakuya did not understand his words, all the better for Zander, he spotted the threat and gripped the handle of his own Zanpaktou. But Rin raised a hand and Zander snorted before nodding and leaving his sword alone. The four companions turned to form a line behind their captain, but Igor spotted the block and was about to speak when Rin moved forward and turned his head at the same time.

Bonk! A great big chest, built with sinew and muscle that would have made some of Rin's old friends Blanche in upset, met his nose. He stepped back, is body visibly shaking and the captains delighting in unnerving the intruder. But Rin continued to back away, crouching slightly to keep away from the being in front of her.

"Thought I felt a curious power in the area... Maybe I should have turned up earlier for the meeting after-all." Captain Zaraki grunted gently, but he was confused by the being shuddering in front of him that had been so confident only seconds before...

Rin wished he had run into Mayuri instead, a sick-twisted-psycho but like an idiotic brother, Rin could have handled it. He'd shown restraint against smashing Byakuya up, but now the demon had come forward. Rin wanted to run away or hide - anything to stop the uncovered eye of the monster staring at him. He felt naked, cold, and tortured!

It had not always been like this, once Rin had wanted nothing more then Kenpachi to stare at her with such a curious attention.

**Next: Part Six - Secret Wish of a Dead World**

_Kenpachi is here and Rin must confront the demon of happiness in her memories. Though not stuck in a loop of flashbacks, Rin will dig deep inside and dare to think of what she wished could happen and to arrange a scenario in her mind of what would have saved her all those years ago. Insight into a woman's fantasies, this is the smoochy part of the story... If only it were not just Rin imagining things!_


	6. 6 Secret Wish of a Dead World

SIX: Secret Wish of a Dead World

Why is it you?

Why has it always been you? I've known you longer then anyone else alive and in all that time you never seemed to show any interest in me. I suppose we were friends, I always believed we were and you never corrected me – but you're so oblivious to things that concern others! You don't really care about others, I've learnt it after so long otherwise I'm sure you would have come and searched for me when I didn't return and my brother's dead body must have been found!

Even Rangiku used to taunt me about my infatuation with you! She used to make me blush and you were standing right in front of me half the time looking clueless! I don't know any man that would dare be so blunt and ignorant when there was always a tense atmosphere between us since that day you saved me from Ichinosae.

You knew then I didn't want to leave Soul Society. At first, whilst I was still reeling in the betrayal of my boyfriend, I didn't notice how you were there at the right time. When he broke my wrist for struggling against him and tried to tie me to him, you cut that chord in a flash and caught me as the shock made me fall back!

I remember that warm embrace and the concern you showed in your face. I'd never seen such warmth or fear in the same mixed expression; you were never the kind of person to show that kind of thing.

And then you dropped me on the ground and got ready to fight….

It's taken a long time for me to realise that fighting was all you were ever interested in. I mean, we used to wrestle and train together from time to time and yet you had never shown any interest in me as a woman. You always asked about my Kido and my sword and all sorts of things that you could not do, but they were always about fighting. Of course you asked about my brother and some of the things you remembered from when I was a kid, but you never really asked about me.

Before I disappeared I remember the horrible argument we had. I know that girl you were seeing was trouble! Of course I was jealous, I'd been around you so long and if I'd have strutted in front of you totally naked you would not have noticed and just assumed I was using some new technique! But she was POISONING you! She was giving you a mix to knock you out if you got too much for her, but you were being given more then you should have! That's why I confronted you and her about it when I was cleaning the dining room. Then she called me a bitch, you just told me I was overreacting, and then I threw that plate at her. It didn't hit her but you saw me reach for another, and I know that's why you grabbed my wrist.

You didn't hurt me; you could have thrown me through a wall if you wanted! But it was an automatic reaction of mine to slap you around the face. But the look of shock on your face when I did that, and your sudden release, has haunted my dreams. I would never do that to you! But then you were in a fever, and I nursed you! Then I beat that stupid woman up and was thrown in a cell for a little while. You came to ask what I was doing, but you and Mayuri turned up in time to see Lord Uso kicking the crap out of me. You looked angry, but it was Mayuri who lunged forward and pushed him out of the cell before yelling at me for not defending myself….

God… Do I send out some kind of "help me, help me" vibe? But you never let me ask for forgiveness then, you didn't even speak to me, you just left! Then I went with my brother, and my life in the Sereitei ended! If I had been able to, you know what I would have done if I had never left and you would have given up the whore!

Her gait was swift and no one could stand in her way! She had finally had enough of the taunts and enough of attempting to try other guys out. She also knew what her heart wanted and now her confidence had grown enough to give it a test. She was not only a battler, but she could be a lover too if it was wanted! The only way to test it on such a brick-wall oblivious man would be to go ahead and pin him down. Rin knew what she had to do and upon stomping into Kenpachi's office she informed Yachiru to leave, and obediently the youngster did.

"Want something?" Kenpachi questioned in that slightly bored tone he addressed everyone with when stuck in the office. Rin froze for a second, it was difficult to figure out what to say, but she knew there was no use in holding it back. After gulping air a little bit, she tightened her fists and suddenly yelled out at the top of her voice, wincing in fear of rejection.

"I LOVE YOU KENPACHI ZARAKI!"

"Come again?" Kenpachi questioned with a slightly confused look to his face. Honestly, there was not much emotion in this man but he should not have said a thing. Rin's skin turned crimson and though her cheeks flushed in embarrassment her flaring spiritual pressure began to bubble with her anger. Kenpachi noticed this and grinned - was there a fight about to happen? He assumed that any such words of affection were just his squad members telling him they would die if he told them to.

"Damn Your Idiocy!" Rin growled and the anger grabbed her confidence and punched her forward. She grabbed the collar part of Kenpachi's eye patch and pulled him straight toward her. Kenpachi's grin disappeared as confusion set in. He had no time to pull away as her soft lips locks around his thin ones.

Though the embrace was swift, their lips lingered together. They could feel each others soft, warm, fluttery breath and feel the heat rising within blushing cheeks. The moistness of their lips increased as they moved a little closer, locking together a little more tightly. Then as Rin opened her mouth slightly to take some air in, she was given a shock as Kenpachi's long tongue flickered at the edges of her mouth.

The sudden vibration, tingle, and pleasure caused Rin to giggle and turn her head to the side. She looked for a moment like a shy school girl but then returned to normal, pulling herself off the desk after realising just how close they'd become. She straightened her shihakshou, looking nervously at him...

Kenpachi was just grinning. He was flushing red but something red glittered in his eyes and he shook his head. It seemed to Rin for a moment that he was now finally realising she was a woman finally.

"HA! I should have guessed you were into that stuff! But I'm game; I've always wondered how those so-called 'Kissing Fish' managed to wrestle like that! So come on Rin! LET's BATTLE!"

Okay, my imagination started it off well but then it got slapped by reality. What am I thinking anyway, it would never happen! Besides, I've changed and I'm sure he hasn't. If he knew how strong I'd become, he'd only be interested in another fight, which I wouldn't be willing to give him. I just wish there was another way I could have expressed my feelings toward him! What the hell! I'm a changed woman, I've been around the block before and I know my stuff. I'll just use one of the methods that got my other beau tied around my little finger!

Rin was not sure how she'd managed to get through eleventh squad security so well, then again they were all terribly lazy. She'd finished her shift at twelfth squad and once Mayuri had grudgingly let her leave, she'd cleared the back wall and snuck amongst the shadows. She'd then managed to get into Kenpachi's private quarters and was thankful that she'd been able to bribe Byakuya to take Yachiru into his house for the evening after supplying him with limitless candy and producing an old bra for Byakuya to ogle over - he was such a pervert at heart!

Taking the bag from her back, she looked at the messy state of the bedroom and shook her head. Luckily she'd have some time to clean it all up before Kenpachi got back. After about an hour or so, Rin had managed to wash all of the clothes, hang them out to dry, tidy the bed sheets, and give the place a scrub. She was quite glad of the special energy pills she'd borrowed from Akon; they had given her a surprising speed she'd not expected. But then she felt the tremor in the air, the squad were returning.

With a cheeky grin, she quickly took out the roses from her bag and broke them up, scattering them all over the bed sheets. Then she ran a small bath and washed her skin down then dried it. She could feel the power of Kenpachi heading toward the barracks and so she finished up as quickly as she could. She made sure her hair was loose and slightly curled, and then put on a really deep red lipstick that almost looked like blood. Worrying it might look a bit tatty but then shaking her head, Rin picked up the black leather corset that she'd packed and pulled it on. She tied it up enough for her bosom to look much lusher and her waist to look more petite. She wanted to compliment of weak and powerful to catch Kenpachi's eyes, so she then tied some white lace around her wrists and let it hang, just in case he wanted to tie her up. Then she put on stockings to darken her legs and double-checked they were smooth.

Lastly she pulled on her crutch less panties with a garter belt that attached to the stockings. They were all black and the panties were a tight fabric that accentuated her pert bottom. Then she draped herself over the bed and leant her head on her hand, her elbow pressing into the hard bed. She then reconsidered and turned so she would be facing the door, her legs lifting in the air, and her bosom more noticeable. Then she waited with a coy look on her face as she felt the spiritual pressure approach her.

The door opened, and Rin was about to say something when the door opened far too wide and three drunk members of eleventh squad (Yumichika, Ikakku, and Kenpachi himself), burst through the door. They froze in surprise, blinked a little then collapsed on the ground in sleep. Rin shook her head, embarrassed and annoyed that Kenpachi was missing a chance with her, but at the same time pleased that they were so drunk they wouldn't even know what they had seen.

Maybe I should have been a man after-all! Then at least he would have reacted to me a little less obliviously. But I can only see my attempts as a man failing terribly and him killing me. The only way I'd be able to seduce him would be to take him down in battle and then kidnap him. Then I'd use the old "Winner gets the Spoils" thing, which he'd understand. But I can see him hating me and maybe killing me for it...

Wait, did I just suggest that I was going to rape him? My God I'm really twisted! All that shit in Eurasia really has changed me. I would never be able to do that to him. Listen to my mind, all I've been thinking here is forcing him to take notice. Maybe I should just let him make the first move, but be a little less restrained.

Who am I kidding? There's no hope for us, is there?

"Captain Ninel! Captain Ninel! Are you alright Captain?" Rin's mind was almost bitch-slapped back into reality by Igor sending one of his telepathic messages to her. Damn, she hated that bond from sharing blood with him! What if he had heard the thoughts about being a man?

Well... He'd heard worse from her mind before now!

"Yes, Lieutenant? Oh... Oh... Yeah, I just got hit by a wave of spiritual pressure from this guy. I would've thought a captain would hold it in during one of these meetings..."

_Author's Note: I want to thank my sister for telling me about her enjoyment of kisses, my buddy Bambi for sharing her own failed seduction attempts with me, and Bucket the Man-Whore for telling me about his own Manly Seduction Experiences... Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! _

_**NEXT TIME: Chapter 7 - Angel Within the Nightmare **_

_Rin's panicking and despite believing she's perfectly well hidden, Old Man Yamamoto knows more then she had hoped. Damn Schatzstein! So when he offers them to stay for tea again, well if being polite won't work there's another way to do it! Just wait to you see what Rin does when someone says Yachiru Uso! Not to mention how difficult it is to sedate her! _

ALSO! I have proof that Renji is actually the purple retard Flamingo with the Yo-Yo from Fantasia 2000 - It's why Sixth squad don't hold musical shows anymore!


	7. Seven: Angel Within the Nightmare

CHAPTER SEVEN: ANGEL WITHIN THE NIGHTMARE

_Captain Ninel! Captain Ninel! Are you alright Captain?_

_Yes, Lieutenant? Oh... Oh... Yeah, I just got hit by a wave of spiritual pressure from this guy. I would've thought a captain would hold it in during one of these meetings... _

_Don't worry Rin; I'm not going to let you go through any pain with him around. I have to admit though; it's clear why you are afraid of him. _Igor was hopeful in reassuring his captain, but his body had felt every inch of excitement when her mind had wandered, and now that he had pulled her off the high there was only fear. He was afraid that something very dangerous could happen if he did not try and diffuse the situation and get Rin away, but luckily Kenpachi spoke again.

"Who the hell are these? Why can't I feel much spiritual pressure from them?" Kenpachi growled in annoyance. He checked all five beings out and though he had no interest in the others, the one in front of him was a little off-putting. Though he would be eager to fight with these strangers purely for the fun of it, the strange fear and yet odd sparkle he noticed in the eye of the one before him was off putting. Had he managed to walk in on a meeting about dealing with homosexuals in the Soul Society? Because quite frankly he was fed up with all the stuff about Ikkaku and Yumichika, he knew his fifth seat was not picky with genders he got with – but Ikkaku was probably the gayest person he'd ever met. But they were certainly not together….

"This is Captain Ninel, a member of the Eurasian Soul Society whose been sent here on request by their president to gain help from us. Their president is an old friend of mine and a diplomat – so as long as this squad are here, they are not to be fought." Captain Yamamoto yawned gently, unlike the others he had now finished reading the note from Schatzstein was wearing one of the biggest grins that they had ever seen on his face. But his words irritated Kenpachi.

"That's not fair! What's the point of having strangers here if you can't test their strength?" Kenpachi growled but he was drawn to Captain Ninel once more as he watched the strange man step away from him and head straight to Yamamoto. Obediently though, he stepped into his usual place for the meeting, only to spot the crumpled form of Ikkaku in the background. "What the?"

"A simple case of rudeness dealt with in my normal manner." Captain Ninel spoke curtly; his strong masculine voice returned and made Kenpachi even more confused. Somehow Rin had a feeling that Kenpachi had not expected to hear a deep voice from her small form – whether pretending to be male or not. "But anyway, Lord in Yamamoto, our task is complete and we must head back already."

"Indeed, Grand Master… For our journey has been quite confusing and when we landed in the outside region, something odd happened. We seemed to have experienced images of our pasts caused possibly by the portal shifts from the Between World." Igor growled gently in his voice was he watched the golden eyes of Captain Kurotsuchi flicker with interest at both the reaction and the knowledge of this being. But Captain Ninel nodded in agreement and bowed to Yamamoto before turning aside.

"Exactly! Though ordinarily our squad would have investigated the travel route thoroughly before-hand, the necessity of our arrival made us forego Logical Investigation. But that same haste is what leads us to our departure. In two weeks we shall return with the rest of our squad members who were chosen for this mission. But I thank you for your time." With that, Rin turned and began storming out, but then she felt the subtle expression of power arise from Yamamoto and pin her feet to the ground.

"Stay then… After such a reaction you must regain strength. If you go through again, there is no telling what might happen to you when you're already in a weakened state. Rest for a while, and then you may continue." Yamamoto was gentle in voice but his power echoed around the newcomers and irritated Rin. Something was up, and Yamamoto seemed eager for them to remain. This same notion kept the captains of the Sereitei from questioning their usually restrictive master.

"With regret… Risks must be taken in a situation as our own. We must depart; otherwise Captain Ninel's punctual reputation may be tarnished." Yaroslavl stated firmly, which saved Rin a bit of fear. But she wondered if maybe that was the wrong thing to say. It made her sound like she was not the well-experienced mercenary captain in question. But Yamamoto's response made the acid in her stomach boil!

"I must insist you stay at least two nights. Even if it is just to ensure that we have indeed set everything up, you may also brief my captains on the severity of the situation. Besides, there may be somewhere you wish to visit whilst in our company." Yamamoto's calm yet suspicious words made Rin very angry indeed. Without even responding, and thus irritating and repulsing all attended, turned about and began to stomp out with her shoulder hunch and the spiritual energy flicker off her.

"How rude? Are we to expect this from all Mercenary Riff-Raff?" Captain Kuchiki stated bluntly and the other captains became a little uneasy. Rin turned around and with the one showing, it burned with a green fire that made Byakuya grip the hilt of his zanpaktou in preparation for a fight. They were irritating Rin more then they should, Igor was feeling the acid and the sickness in her gut, and he urged the others to follow. But the mob gasped fearfully when Yamamoto spoke once more.

"I'm sure your father, Lord Uso, might be delighted to have a visit from the daughter he thought was dead. Don't you think so, Yachiru?" The elder captains looked sharply at Rin with fear in their eyes. They did not understand what was going on, surely this was a man in front of them? Kenpachi was ready to lunge forward and grab the imposter, but when Rin turned, Zander nearly soiled himself in terror.

"What did you say?" Rin's spiritual pressure burnt around her and began to melt away some of her disguise that was supposed to suppress it. Her teeth began to grind behind their mask and the eye patch started to fizz. Any moment now, as she turned and faced Yamamoto with the aggression of a bull about to charge – her spiritual pressure would escape completely and her blood-wrath would take over. Her companions were prepared, as Rin's feet tensed for the charge; Yaroslavl took a bottle of potent sedative from his pocket and threw it to Igor. At the moment Igor caught it, Rin charged and he jumped. Titan leapt in front and took the full force of the charge, bowling over and into the other captains. Igor gripped at Rin's shoulders and tried to pull her back, but instead he was dragging the cloak off. As Yarol stepped in front and hooked himself around the now screaming captain, Zander darted with speed to the potion in Igor's hand and stabbed the needle straight into the back of Rin's neck.

As they released her, she turned. Zander was cast backward into Titan and Yaroslavl was grabbed at the throat with her teeth. As Igor tried to get himself back together, his throat was grasped and squeezed. The Gotei 13 was so stunned and stupefied that they could not react to help the trio, until the teeth released and Rin collapsed. She fell into Igor's open arms and was pulled in close as her body began to convulse and stiffen as she tried to fight it off. But it failed and soon she was fast asleep, stiff as a board, whilst Igor sang soft Russian lullabies to keep her silent.

Watching the scene, Kenpachi was quick to leave and head away. He ignored the plaintive cry for attention from his lieutenant as he hurried off on his own. His mind was confused. What was going on here and why was it happening now? He headed to the one place he knew he didn't have to think and not worry about the world – the bath tub!

_**A/N:**__ Quick and late, I know, but I'm afraid personal circumstances have made me very slow at this. _

_Anyway here's the preview for the next chapter! _

_CHAPTER 8: Dangers of the Choking World_

_Rin's out cold in fourth squad barracks and her gang is under scrutiny. They want to know what's been going on and Igor is in debate over what to say. But as each is pressed harder for information, they have to give in. _

_Learn what happened to Rin, about Ivann, his death and the terrible torture, as well as Rin's kids! But the torture might prove too much for one of her old friends – Kenpachi's feelings are confused. He does not understand what he is going to do with the arrival of this old friend. Plus, we get Kenpachi's view on how Rin was! _


	8. Chapter 8

_WARNING BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER... _

_It contains material that may be sensitive to some readers, so be aware that what happens is merely fiction, not based on any real event, and that most importantly... _

_I do not write the world out to be anything more then what it is Happy & Sad. _

CHAPTER 8: Dangers of the Choking World

Kenpachi hated moments when he was needed to think things through very carefully, and sadly this was one of those times. His grooming session had ended up a complete mess, and though he'd managed to do his grooming in under thirty-minutes, a new record, the whole time his brain had been ticking away. It was not that Kenpachi was dumb, dense maybe, but not dumb. He understood a lot more then was credited to him, but one thing he did not understand was why the situation had changed?

He and Rin had always gotten along fine, in fact he'd even cried the day he was told by Ikkaku that her brother had been found dead and she had been assumed the same. Why did he cry? Because he had been mean to her before and had been too proud to be seen apologising to a woman. But that was understandable and now he had a chance to speak to her and say his peace, but something was wrong. He had noticed something about Rin that he had not really spotted before now –she was a fully-grown woman!

Before, she'd been growing up and still a kid and he'd always taken the position of her best friend –he'd enjoyed how much she used to respect him! But now she was back after sixty-years and her childish confidence, that "I'm not a Kid!" kind of attitude was gone. Her confidence now exuded with the force of a warrior and she'd actually tried to take out old man Yamamoto! Surely she was not a kid, plus she was a Captain and probably knew Bankai and everything! Plus, when she'd turned and looked at him, he had felt nervous like he was seeing into something… Well… He could not really tell what he'd been seeing. Then suddenly some words of thought slipped out of Kenpachi's mind and across his lips, making him shudder and check around him in case someone heard.

"Her eye is really blue!"

"Watch what you say, Lord Kuchiki. Despite what you beings of the Sereitei wish to believe, Captain Rin has been through a lot. If you were to even think a bad word against her, I would have no problem draining your spiritual energies! I had to drain from Rin once, a long time ago, and from that I was force-fed her memories and she and I have a certain level of sensory attachment. Where most soul reapers, Bounto, and Quincy can identify one another by spiritual pressure, I know exactly where Rin is, who she's with, and what's she's doing. The only way to turn off that knowledge is from her own mind. So, if her mood gets upset, I'll know who upset her and who to punish." Though Igor was the only one to speak, the entirety of squad seemed to throb with the same emotions and threat. Retsu Unohana however seemed to be melting in her Captain's cloak at the seriousness in Igor's stare.

"_MUM! Mumma don't leave me! Let me go! Let me GO!"_

Igor shuddered as he thought back to what he had heard as he'd broken into the hallway leading to the torture chamber. He grimaced as he looked at the Sereitei and forced himself to continue. He did not know how they would react to the thought of not only Rin's rape, but that the bastards had then grabbed little Sergei and kidnapped him. "When the kid was taken away and converted into a Hollow and then to an Arrancar, when that bastard Vladimir got involved with Aizen, things changed with Rin. We had to fight to get the information needed to breech the divide and enter the Hollow Realm. We call it Dunkelwelt, and amongst the endless desert of night, Rin thought Uri, ripped his ear off, and rescued both Sergei, and another child subjected to the same cruelty. She's been very aggressive and anxious since then. This explains her reaction in the meeting. Sometimes she can control her fear and the flashbacks –sometimes she just can't."

Retsu's face paled at the realisation of what Igor might have seen. Somehow she could see the agony in his eyes, the utter helplessness that even Captain Toshiro spotted and shook at. Byakuya was quiet again. He knew he should not have commented on how Rin's emotions had let her loose control, or how she, a Captain, had dared to lie to Yamamoto. But in general the captains were quiet and regretting making any comment about any foolish action. Luckily though, Yaroslavl stepped in to finish the explanations and let Igor settle back down on the windowsill, staring at Rin as she twitched in her sleep.

"If you check her body out, you'll find all the clinical signs to prove this, Captain Unohana. However, we have been kind enough to tell you why she was so aggressive towards everyone – we reckon that the flashbacks we were all experiencing might have started showing things she certainly did not want to remember. Also, the fact that Uri was able to Shape-shift meant that it was more then likely she was seeing someone familiar that she trusted when the… attack… took place. But be aware that our own Soul Society is not as restrictive as yours and we have all come from mangled pasts. Plus, unlike here, we have the options if born in the Soul World to live in the human world."

"So… How did you all end up working together in the first place? All your accents are different and you all have some rather unique mannerisms." Captain Komamura whined gently, his ears twitched in interest every time he heard a sound of pain from the sleeping figure. He and the other male soul reapers had received a bit of a shock to be permitted into a room where a woman was lying naked under a thin white nightdress with only a light cover for protection.

The words seemed to vex Yaroslavl for a good few moments before that sly grin appeared. It made Toshiro shudder, if only because the gleaming, toothy expression was as alike to that of Captain Ichimaru's. But as the strange man bobbed his head from side-to-side in thought, Toshiro found himself relaxing. This guy might indeed be creepy, but he was clearly stuck in the memory as he found himself giggling gently. But before Yarol could say anything, Igor smacked him around the head as if sensing what he was thinking about.

Women confused Kenpachi greatly, even Yachiru asked questions he could not really explain, but this idea of Rin being back relaxed him. After-all, she'd always been 'one of the guys' and had known exactly how to deal with the little girl's questions without blanching or seeking out whatever caused such thoughts. It was Rin's absence that had made him beg for Unohana to start up the women's society, for Yachiru's sake and his own.

But Kenpachi had began to realise his own upset over Rin's death had been quite extreme in recent days. He had figured out that before Ichigo had come along, he'd been less thoughtful and interested in anything that did not run the risk of death. He'd found himself more inclined to seek death as well, but why? Had he wanted to be with Rin again? It had not been till that thoughtful period of near-death after his defeat by Ichigo that Kenpachi had spotted the big hole in his life. He'd been missing that figure who'd been unafraid to of hitting him over the head with a plate when he was too drunk to go to sleep or too eager to fight someone. He had missed the one person who had been around all the time. She had been around, just for him – even when she had been a child it had always been to his side she'd leapt.

In his confused state he could not help but shake his head so much that he almost deafened himself with the ringing of the bells. Only then did he remember he hadn't taken them out, and his hair was probably drooping by now! With a groan of annoyance, Kenpachi rolled in the bath and managed to bash his temple against the soap shelf. At this point he leapt upward with a loud swear word and put his head through the shampoo shelf. That was it! He was getting out of the bath now!

"What the hell is wrong with me? Is… Is this what it's like to be worried about other people's opinions? To… To actually care?" Kenpachi questioned, and as he felt it dawning on him that he was bothered by her opinion of him, slowly he sank back down into the soapy water with a few bubbles of regret.

"Well… It was thanks to Ivann that we all met up. He was my commanding officer and we were initially the data resources for the Siberian forests. We were sent to investigate the energy fluctuations and rips around Kamchatka, only to step through an old gateway and land in Japan. At that time, we arrived just in time to see two Soul Reapers being attacked. We had no way to save Rin's brother, but after killing the Hollow, Ivann insisted we had to help her. We broke protocol, but Ivann recognised something in Rin. It wasn't until we returned to the lab and identified her blood type as one of the lost children of Professor Ninel. It was only because of that blood relationship that we kept her around – the masters back then were not going to let her go home without extensive testing, and that was up to Ivann and me. But Rin was like a nervous child and Ivann just seemed to want to look after her. So, we ended up getting an agreement to keep her as a teammate, she certainly knew how to break down security walls on computer systems and identify what some of our enemies were up to." Igor growled gently as he thought back to "the old days", when the Soviet Soul Society had existed and blocked off every doorway to any other soul world, except for those they let their own Death Dealers go through.

"So… She was a member of your society before she was here? How did she get through in the first place when you say the doors were locked up?" Toshiro questioned as he rubbed his chin in thought. However, he noted the glint of interest and even eagerness from Igor to respond. Until he noted that Igor's dark eyes were locked upon those deceiving blue ones of Lady Unohana.

"Oh yes!" Igor grinned gently, and suddenly everyone lurched backward at the sight of two fangs that were suddenly visible in his smile. But he placed his hand over them and quickly apologised. "Many apologies, I am a Bounto, or so we called ourselves. But I don't feed on Reishi, Rin and I have a bond, as I said so before. But anyway… Rin and her brother were being experimented on in a lab by their father, Doctor Ninel. You mustn't tell her of course, but his foolish testing with spiritual pressure being used in a machine as a weapon, ended up creating a loop-hole in the 'Between', and she and her brother got through. Of course, this was after Rin killed her father to save them both."

"She did what?" Byakuya spat in disgust, but it was not anger at what Rin had done but more what had been done to her. Whispers of confusion began amongst the others, it was obviously a large shock and they were quite upset. But instead, they were all made quiet when Mayuri gave out a little sound of pity. Byakuya eyed the strange clown for a second, but Igor continued regardless of the outburst.

"So yes, Rin was indeed part of our world so easy to keep amongst the residents. We developed a series of devices to conceal the excess energy that her journey into our world caused, and also to hide the fact she was female. Not many women were permitted in the labs at that time, and all women were usually forced to find a husband and settle down. But the disguise protected her from that. Yet, it was that factor, and what must be said as a strange motherly nature within Miss Rin that caused the band to form up. We all respected our captain, Ivann, but we all followed Rin."

"I must admit I did not like Ivann at all on our first meeting. Then again, as I recall, it was you, dear Igor, who threw me to the ground and that same captain that chained me to a board in order to get news from me. After-all, I was a renegade Death-Dealer." Yaroslavl giggled in delight at the thought of the past and how many he had killed on order, and killed for fun! "Yes, but I forget you do not have them. We are merely the 'Grim Reapers' of human mythology in the west –sent to kill people either to save a land from an epidemic of disease or at the risk of our own lands. I just used to kill without thought. But my dear Rinny-Rin was always kind and when I tried to use her as a hostage, thinking her a boy, I ended up getting a kick to my groin and an elbow to my head. Then she grabbed my ear and began to drag me around and beat me like a naughty child! It changed me!"

"If you can only imagine him as being a blood-thirsty criminal, then you can imagine how dangerous Rin was. Yep, she was a psycho to say the very least and always helping Ivann out whenever she could. Even though he was Captain, Rin was his guard dog and did everything asked of her. She once ended up in a fight, whilst rescuing some stupid woman, with Mr Jeckel! A notorious Incubus, well… they're a type of Hybrid from Death-Dealers and Bounto (total loons with insatiable sex drives!) and her and him ended up in a stalemate. Apparently Jeckel was surprised to have been beaten by a female. But he's been a friend since then." Zander began, almost bouncing up and down as he tried to recall the actions of swords swinging and wrists being used to hold blows. Igor just rolled his head, but Titan gently picked up his friend and then set him back down.

"Calm yourself, Zander. You say Jeckel had a bad sex-drive, well when you joined you were just as bad. If I remember, Captain Ivann had to take you on as a parole arrangement with Captain Stanislaw because you bedded his employer on a mission and a got paid more then anyone else!" Titan began with a gentle smile. The Soul Reapers were suddenly uncomfortable; this was not an area they were very well rehearsed in. Sex was just an outside thing that no one talked about, yet Zander did not seem so restrained.

"HEY! Don't get like that with me Titan, you Burgundian muscle-head! I couldn't help it. Spending most of my life amongst scary East-German women, to suddenly having some Ukrainian bombshells around me? Hell, I couldn't help myself –unless they wanted me to hump corpses!" There was a sudden look of terror on the face of Byakuya and Toshiro, and Zander gulped gently in realisation. "Not literally. But hey, my sexual attraction was what told me Rin was a woman!"

"Yeah, but your fear of her being a man worked wonders to keep your libido in. She was nice to me, unlike you guys!" Titan chuckled softly. "She took me out of the fighting ring and gave me a purpose. In fact, thanks to her I found Claude again, though he was a Bounto change, and I managed to leave the past behind. I mean, if Rin had not made Ivann hang around after the match and patched up my wounds –I'd have probably died in a ditch with no one caring for me!"

"Yeah! But even you fell in love with her instantly back then!" At that moment Kenpachi walked in, only to slam the door behind him. He had no idea why he had felt it necessary to do so, but it got the recognition he wanted. Igor even gave him a slightly knowing grin before clipping Zander around the back of the head again. Zander quickly apologised and then chuckled. "Of course, that scared you too because you had a very friendly, deep-voiced, and muscular man patching your wounds with such a gentle touch! Ah… Rin's got the softest hands no matter how much she makes them bleed when training with her sword."

There was a hum of agreement from his fellows, and Kenpachi visibly gulped (though thankfully no one noticed). Somehow his mind started questioning what those hands might feel like tracing his muscles and scars. He then suddenly imagined a long tongue caressing his chest and then moving south – only to stop and wince, his legs clamping together as if he suddenly needed the toilet.

"The toilets are the second door to the left, Captain Zaraki. Feel free to use them." Unohana turned and beamed at him in delight. Kenpachi gave a sound like a drone, nodded, and then disappeared while trying to keep his captain's jacket tightly around his waist. He was not sure what was going on with his body, but boy he would need to find an outlet sooner or later, like some bored floozy just hoping for a bit of fun –no questions asked.

"So Rin got you all together? It's so strange to think that she was the one to bind a whole team together. Especially when Captain Yamamoto's reported stated that your group had a 99% success rate as well as a reputation for good service. Is it your friendship that's made you so well, do you think?" Toshiro questioned gently.

"Yes, as well as kept us together after Ivann's death. It was very difficult then because she'd basically gone insane over the whole situation, and we got into real trouble when we went to fetch the kids back from him. But it was because we were a family and Rin was like the mum we all bandied together." Yaroslavl explained quickly and they all nodded their heads in agreement. But they were weary; things were not going to go the right way if they decided to probe about his death.

"What happened to Ivann? What made Rin so upset?" Of course they went there! Igor was suddenly afraid of answering the question. There were two complications, if he said the smallest details then they would not be satisfied. If he went too far into it, then Rin would slaughter him, and just giving them the basic knowledge might make them sympathetic or estranged to Rin –and then she would know and kill them in turn.

Kenpachi returned again, and felt afraid by the sudden tension in the air. Igor gulped visibly; he did not want to speak especially with him around. Rin had always stated how much of a friend Kenpachi was and how often he had ended up there to save her at the last minute of more then one occasion. He had also saved her from a situation that could have gone along similar lines, and just the fact that one of the events that took place was incredibly violent, Igor did not want to be the messenger that got shot.

"Well… Things happened that if we spoke of, Rin would kill us all." Zander spoke first. He knew what was going on in Igor's mind and was quick to hide behind Titan. Titan also felt afraid and grabbed Yaroslavl to stand in front of him. Igor quickly slid behind Yarol and gulped nervously. It was not often that he looked nervous; the Shinigami must have guessed this and started whispering to themselves. But it was Unohana who cut the ice.

"I take it… The rape was involved in his death? Only I did a basic check over of her body and noted the basic signs of a situation –as well as major damage. I assume it was during a torture session and would be the result of the missing 2% in your efficiency." Her words were a little wavering, but it was the silence and horror upon the faces of the others and the fact that Titan and Zander had now shoved their fingers in their ear that made Igor upset.

RAPE! Kenpachi turned about, he had missed something important. He looked to Unohana, his eyes wide and panicked. Luckily he was not alone and though Igor nodded his head slowly, it was Captain Hitsugaya who wanted to press the question further.

"Please, you've said she was attacked and tortured, and you've stated how a valuable child was taken. But what are the finer details? We need to know why the attack took place and if it will have any bearings here." Toshiro masked his real concern with the concern of the Sereitei. He had guessed already that the shape-shifter Uri had been the one to hurt her, but the details had not included the fact that she was raped, and if they knew why –then they could prevent more flashbacks for poor Rin.

"Well… Ivann had been working in secret on a device. None of us even knew he was dealing with it except the government. It was a last attempt by Communist Supporters to have the most allies and rescources so that they would win the war on capitalism through cutting supply routes. It was a Transdimensional transporter, a small crystal that could open up holes in the space/time continuium and allow the weilder to step into any universe and possibly any state in time. Ivann had not solved the time issue yet, but it was still a prize idea. He'd been testing it in secret, and apparently he was curious about how Rin's over-exerted spiritual pressure might affect it and be the key to breaking the time problem." Igor gulped nervously. He did not want to continue, but his words alone were panicking the soul reapers as they considered the possibility of what might occur if Aizen had that kind of capability.

"Then, he asked Rin and Sergei to join him for the testing. It's about the extent we know of what was the reason we were asked not to enter. Instead we were sent to guard the outskirts and report any problems we saw. We didn't see anything and that was the problem. You see, there are Poltergeist in our lands that are invisible with their unique spiritual pressure, but cause damage to machinery. They cause trouble on purpose and used as both spies and saboteours in battles. One of them got through and passed the information on to Vlad and Uri. In the meantime, Sergei was quite happy just playing with his Gameboy while Rin was focusing spiritual pressure around the device." Zander was anxious too, he did not want to continue talking but he had needed to keep them from blaming the gang for not reacting quickly enough.

"Next thing we know, the alarms went off at base camp and we ran to the sight of an explosion! Just as we tried to clean up the place and get the others like Lex and the other kids out, we heard another sound. It was a bomb and everyone of us ended up trapped in a bunker under snow. It took a while to get out and when we did, we could see the fires coming from the Testing Area. Not only that, but when we got up, there was a whole army of troublemakers waiting for us. We had a scrap and most of them ran for it, but the lab was so damaged on the outside it took us ages to even get to it." Titan grunted, understanding why Zander had begun the explanation of their whereabouts and why it had taken them so long.

"The lab was buried under the snow, and Vladimir and his forces had taken them captive. They needed information and time. So Vlad, being a computer genius, hacked into the system with Sergei being used as a bargaining chip. Ivann refused to answer any questions about the device's location. He'd managed to slip it into a special pocket in his chest he developed. It's like a cavity of extra flesh that he mimiked on both sides so they just seemed normal on him. But his refusal to talk, even when he was getting hurt meant that they needed different tactics. Sadly, Uri was with them and he had a good guess at what he could do to get answers." Igor began to wring his hands against each other. He did not want to continue, he did not want the sorrow to return that was filling them all. He did not want to speak the memories that Rin had passed to him either. Luckily though, Yaroslavl pressed his shoulder calmly, and cleared his throat to speak.

"Uri is known as a master torturer –he can use strong memories on the surface of an unconscious being to transform into a familiar figure and either damage or reassure the victim. He is a shape-shifter of sorts and uses those abilities to get information. We don't know how he can do the memory retrieval, but he certainly knew things about Rin's life that we didn't know. We were still usy trying to break down the defences though at that time - so we couldn't get to her." Yarol suddenly began to shake, turning back to Igor, but instead Titan took it up. None of them wanted to go further into the situation, too afraid of what could happen.

"We know he changed into Shoji, but Rin did not know of the location of the device and so could not be easily convinced. He turned into Lord Uso, whom we gathered was Rin's adopted father, and into many figures including us and the children. But surprisingly none of them were really the kind of characters that Rin would be afraid or weak around - so he changed tactics. He ended up... beating her and then when no amount of physical torture, in the generic sense, worked. So then he turned to surgery and decided to remove something to make her talk. He chose her appendix, and even we thought that we could hear the screams from where we were fighting." Titan began to cry, something scary from such a giant man who looked like a Gaul Warrior. Yaroslavl took in a heavy gulp and then explained the last bit they could before becoming even more afraid.

"The removal of the appendix was unnecessary, but at the same time a non-fatal yet painful procedure under half the dose of pain-killers and anaesthesia to be affective. She was kept fully awake and in terrible pain, but they kept her from going unconcious so she had no relief until it was over. They cleaned up well so she wouldn't die of an infection, but because she said nothing - they left her a bit as they tried once more with Ivann. But it didn't work, so Uri went back to Rin alone, without even Vlad's permission to go and continue her torture!"

"Yet, Rin just didn't know. At first when we went over the procedure with Rin, she just stopped there and skipped out an hour of the timeline. Only through my own link did I manage to get the rest. Uri transformed into someone very important, and in that form he raped her. She fought back and did major damage, but the fact that the figure he turned into was incredibly strong made her resistance useless - as well as someone she respects so well." Igor gulped heavily. He did not want to continue with this conversation. Immediately the eyes seemed to be upon him, he didn't want to answer the unspoken question – but the beautiful sorrow in Unohana's eye compelled him to answer. "Uri took the form of Rin's 'hero'–Captain Zaraki."

Kenpachi almost collapsed. What kind of madness was this? How could that have happened? He even began to wonder if he himself had done it and blamed himself, but the situation was not his fault. He looked to where Rin lay still on the bed, tied down and twitching while the machines maintained her heart-rate as the sedative finally began to wear off. He could not see anything like that happening to Little Rin, the kid that had always snuck out of the house to visit him. But more so he contemplated his own method to have dealt with it. He'd saved her before, and damn it if he could have been there to stop it, he would have saved her again.

"What the hell are you on about Maki?" Everyone in twelfth squad had heard the clamour as a member of the eleventh division, who'd just been shamed again by his new captain, had burst into the residential part of the barracks and pulled one of their members out of her room. Akon had been the first to run from twelfth to eleventh and tell Kenpachi what was going on, and because he had thought it his fault, Kenpachi had begun to follow them. But Rin was not having a good time of it as she pulled by the wrist out of the barracks and straight down the long roads toward the nearest gate.

"He's too dangerous and while he remains here there is no way we will .He will bring nothing but destrcution, even Captain Tousen agrees and we should leave. I cannot support the soul society if they let such a monster in. I can't believe this!" Maki Ichinosae was pulling Rin firmly, her confusion giving him the edge so that he could keep her moving whilst she thought over it. But he knew she would protest, she had tried to convince him of Zaraki's good side, but he had not seen it and refused to believe that it existed.

"Who are you talking about?" Rin half chuckled in confusion as she was jerked forward into the open now. Everyone watched in surprise but were too afraid to say anything or even do anything. Akon had continued to walk beside Kenpachi whilst Ikkaku and Yumichika had been needed to entertain Yachiru so she did not ask any more questions. It had been bad enough that Kenpachi had been badgered by her about the whole Ichinosae thing because either Kenny did not like girls coming into the squad, or because he wanted to be Rin's special friend instead. This was just easier to explain away...

"Your supposed friend –the Murderer Kenpachi! He will bring nothing but disaster to the serenity of the Sereitei. While he's here we're not welcome and neither is justice. I cannot beleive that even after failing the captain's test he was still permitted to take over. He killed my captain you know, he didn't just wound him as would be normal practice! He HAD to kill him apparently!" Maki was more talking to himself then talking to Rin, and though she tried hard to pull herself out of his strong grip, he seemed to hold a different ind of strength. Already his spiritual pressure was rising and Rin could not comprehend what might have been making it so vivid, save rage.

"Are you mad? There's always a place for us here. Unlike you, I never really had a place I felt so comfortable. With Kenpachi here I feel even more happier then normal. Everything is going well for me! Is there some jealousy within that means I can't be happy unless you're happy too? Things don't work like that Maki!" She humoured him. Even before Kenpachi had turned up she'd been considering the idea of dumping Maki - he had been acting a little too controling and now she was regretting even being around him!

"Look... You and I will be together forver, you know that. You told me you would have it no other way! If we stay here I'll always be unhappy and you'll never be happy either. A wife and her husband should be one connected being - not rivals! If we stay, we'll never be one!" Maki's words were strange, but to Rin the smelt of the pig-ignorance that her adopted father had tried to push onto her. There was no equality within that sort of marriage.

"But I've never contemplated marriage before... I don't even believe in it because it's been used as an excuse by the parents of making names for themselves! I'm not even sure I want to be with you forever. We are both changing and its in opposite directions to what it used to be. Maybe we have to be apart!" Rin tried to speak rationally, if he believed in justice so much then calm words should assist. But Maki just seemed to get more irritated and blank her.

"I'm not going to listen to that you're coming with me!" He growled his annoyance at her words. He looked almost as if her were about to slap her, but thank goodness he was controlled enough for it. Rin was not used to any of this, her whole body froze in a kind of fear - had she made him this bad? Was it her fault he was angry? Before Rin had a chance to speak anymore, Maki took a ribbon from the hilt of his Zanpaktou - a friendship one that Rin had given him when they had trained together. Rin eyed it, but then it was tied around her wrist, tightly, and he began to pull without words. Rin dug her heels in, she wouldn't move, but Maki fought against the strain.

"AH! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Rin began, trying to walk backward. She was too stubborn to give in, shock or no shock! Her spunky independence was starting to kick into her mind. She wasn't going to stand for this kind of treatment from any man! She pulled back hard, knocking Maki off balance. But he tried again the yank her back. Rin grabbed hold of one of the pillars in the courtyard, people looked on but offered no help as she refused to let go though Maki tried to rip her off it without stepping backward himself!

SNAP!

Rin let out an almighty scream of pain and yet Ichinosae pulled more, the pain making her release the pillar and hurry on behind him. She continued to scream at the pain of her broken wrist as each attempt to stop was echoed by a vicious tug. Tears began to stream from her eyes, yet still no one in the Sereitei seemed smart enough to stop the situation. Rin eyed them all desperately - she did not want to be a prisoner and yet the eyes of the other soul reapers seemed to convict her.

But as he tried to pull her out of the Sereitei doors, the gatekeeper was compelled to open the door but look scared. He did not know what was going on, for that Rin did not blame the seemingly idiotic guard. But she blamed him as he refused to sound the alarm, stop her being dragged, or even ask a question about where they were going. Once more Rin tried to strain, but as she pulled back and Maki pulled back in turn, there was another snap!

There was a sound like the wind beside Rin's ear, and then she was released. A sword had severed the chord with a crack that hurt her chest. It seemed almost a symbol of her friendship and love for the once brave and just man - broken so suddenly. Maki fell backward, wobbling and knocking his head hard on the ground. But he got up from it, shaking his head gently before growling toward the interruption. Rin fell backward, going to land on her bum but something warm and loving caught her.

She was grabbed and steadied at the shoulder, and then hooked beneath the knees into the craddling form of a rescuer. Her head was brought to a handsomely strong chest where she placed her cheek and ear to hear the steady thum of a strong heart. Rin had a saviour in this world and immediatley she thought she was in love - until she looked up. Rin's face turned bright pink as she realised it was Kenpachi's form around her. She looked into his hard grey-brown eyes that revealled nothing but his casual uninterest. Yet his jaw was set firmly and his facial features were hardened with an unspoken threat to the being that had hurt one of his close friends.

"She's mine! You can't take her away from me!" Maki screamed, but Kenpachi just straightened and turned away. He ignored Maki as the foolish soul reaper tried to stand himself up, aware now that he had actually sent Rin into the arms of his enemy.

"Enough Ichinosae! I can't take something that was never yours." With that said, and the threat of a fight present in the air, Ichinosae left. He was just as bruised from bashing his head, but the gate was shut and everyone was silent. For that alone, Rin felt less embarrassed but just as shocked.

"Hang on, Rin, I'll take you to Unohana and get that fixed up." Kenpachi stated calmly as he'd hoisted her higher against his chest so his chin was barely and inch from the top of her head. He carried her at a gentle pace so as not to jog her painful wrist and seemed unaware of the shock on his friend's face. He looked like the hero saving the princess at the end of a movie, but it was simply a friend helping another friend to Kenpachi.

Or could it have been more then that...

**Next Time –Part Nine: Mysteries of Girls, Guys, & Love**

_Rintakara and Rangiku were once a pair of mischievous girls in the academy that watched out for one another and even watched out for Gin. Now the pair of "Bosom Buddies" are back together and revelling in the past mischief and joking of their experiences. From intimate relationships with other Shinigami to the secrets behind blackmail, the two recall all their havoc. But what is left for their friendship now? Does Rin really want to know how Rangiku has been missing her and Shoji for so long? And will Rangiku get Rin to admit the one truth about her affections that everyone else has failed at?_

Coming Soon…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Mysteries of Girls, Guys, & Love

When the sedative wore off and Rin awoke, two things made her eyes widen and her hands clamp on the bed sheet. One, she was back in the Sereitei and had probably been talking about the dancing blue lobsters in her sleep again - man, the years of watching Disney with Sergei and then Grimmjow had made her skull a friggin' musical number! And two, she could feel the fabric of the bed a little too much. This surely meant only one thing - SHE WAS NAKED!

Turning sharply to her left, hoping to reach for a dark shihakshou she could see in the corner of her eye, Rin's head collided with something. It was not hard like a coffee table, but soft, warm, and bouncy like a pair of...

It twigged and Rin had only a chance to motion a wave with her hand before the giant melons smashed into her face again and the surprisingly strong arms caught around her neck in a headlock. Despite the fact that it could have broken her neck, the traditional Matsumoto greeting was continued with the jumping and jiggling that had once caused Rin to pass out!

"Rinny!" Rangiku screeched and then pulled the gasping head from her bosom. Rin had barely been able to glare at her old friend before a kiss was planted over her green eye. She began to struggle away and Rangiku began to cough and cry. "You never change! There are tonnes of guys who'd pay good money to be in your position right now!"

After a few blinks and getting back to normal, normal being that Rintakara was wearing some clothes, the two soul reapers lounged on the medical bed with a glass of water. Someone had already confiscated Rangiku's sake supply, but Rin was happy about that factor and more eager to relax. Something about seeing her old friend again made her feel either at home or just calmer. She felt normal, as if she did not have to hide, and whatever had taken place in front of Yamamoto was now pushed aside by memories of youthful idiocy!

"Do you remember when we made the fake boobs for Gin? How many of the guys hit on him? Didn't young Byakuya even try until that idiot turned around and did the squeaky voice thing? We had him go around calling himself Gina for a week and only the others girls seemed to notice that the boobs were little more then leather bags filled with water that jiggled a bit too much?" Rin snorted and Rangiku sprayed water over her friend's face. Rin just laughed louder and took a swig to spit at her. Rangiku squealed and stood up, trying to shield her face but failing, and instead pushing Rin's shoulder.

"That's gross! Yeah I remember! I also remember the time we found Komamura's secret dog toys and treats... He thought we were going to figure him out until you turned around and started looking for the 'puppy' you guessed he was hiding. That was in our first year and he was about to graduate! I still can't believe it took me so long to realise that he did have wolf-fur. You knew before me though, didn't you? Because I swear you went on a date with him out of sympathy!" Rangiku snorted as she made the bed bounce, and everything else bounce with it so that Rin felt a little disconcerted.

"Yeah... But it wasn't out of pity... He genuinely asked me and I always thought he was a good fighter. We didn't get very far though... A woman at the teahouse he took me to was allergic to fur and kept sneezing we had to leave because they noticed there was fur all over his robes. Then as we were walking he got a weird itch and ended up doing what dogs do and kicked his helmet off. Poor guy was so terrified of my reaction he leapt behind a bush! But I just told him it didn't bother me one bit and gave him a kiss on the cheek..."

"So that was why you kept getting red hair out of your mouth that day! Everyone thought you and I had been doing something! We had so many guys coming to ask us to watch it was ridiculous. Then we decided to milk it for some money and Gin took bets as we mud wrestled. They used to love it when we then snogged at the end of each fight just to make them pay even more for next time! We bought our own little barber business for Gin then! Shame it got destroyed by the loose experiment from Urahara's place before we graduated - and we got found out and almost kicked out of the academy!"

The two started to chuckle again in joy. Sometimes they had been the most troublesome students around but also the most inventive, clever, and hilarious. They were popularly known as the "Bosom Buddies" because at the time they had been very big in the chest and forced on many occasions to walk around with an extra piece of fabric sewn into their shirts to make sure their cleavage was fully covered and would not distract their tutors. It had not always worked and sometimes they'd ended up kicking a teacher for looking at them a little too much, though they had picked on the teachers that picked on Gin when he didn't seem to be listening or did not like the way he'd responded. In the end, they had been the Bosom Buddies and their Baby - a trio of troublemakers that always looked out for one another and made the Soul Society wince in fear of what they could do, but secretly proud that they never did anything for the "bad-guys".

"Things all got weird in our last year, didn't it?" Rangiku questioned gently with a sigh of disappointment. She knew where the conversation would soon be heading and she was a little afraid of it. Soon they would be talking about the graduation, about Kenpachi turning up, and about Shoji. She was worried because of a truth she had kept hidden from Rin all those years ago, and to think of it now ruin what they had returned to. Rangiku did not want to loose the last friend of the trio again... Not after loosing Gin...

"Yeah... That was when Aizen showed a lot of interest in Gin and kept talking to him about joining his squad. We didn't like him then but Gin seemed to be a little too interested in what he said. Then I somehow managed to get a boyfriend and you became my brother's personal assistant as he got immediately promoted to tenth squad's lieutenant. And then my dad pulled strings and got me held back for two years!" Rin growled in annoyance, that year had been awful, but Rangiku seemed more uncertain about herself.

"Well… I need to tell you something important, Rin." Rangiku gulped visibly and Rin was surprised. Usually that kind of reaction was followed up by the statement 'I ate your last bag of candy' or something ridiculous like that. In fact Rintakara even chuckled gently and pushed at her shoulder gently. But Rangiku's depressed look appeared and suddenly Rin was really scared. "It's... It's about your brother."

For a moment Rin's heart fluttered, only to smash immediately with her rational mind's scream. In that second the possibility of him being alive made her smile only to drop into a sullen frown when she remembered his death. With a low growling sound, Rintakara reminded herself once more that no one had mentioned him and he had certainly not been amongst the captains when she had stepped into the meeting. Surely, if he had been alive, he would have been alerted and come to see her long before Rangiku?

"What is it Ran? You know we've never had secrets so I'd be worried if you kept one from me now!" She chuckled, but something told her she wasn't going to like this.

"We had a… _Thing_…" Rangiku gulped nervously, ducking backward as if she was about to have her head put through the wall. But curiously she noted that Rin just remained perplexed. Maybe the time away had rattled Rin's brain enough that she did not know what Rangiku was actually referring to.

"A '_thing'_?" Rin snorted, but Rangiku blushed visibly and suddenly Rin felt scared. Her eyes widened and she tried hard to keep a snarl from her voice. "That kind of _thing_?"

"Yeah… We sort of wanted to be together and get married…. But when Shoji asked, Lord Uso said he'd had his marriage already prepared and that I was not even worth bothering to talk to. It kinda gotta us into a small argument that was ended when you beat that girl up and got put on lock-down in twelfth squad. I didn't get to apologise to him before he died…" Rangiku gulped nervously, only to give a shriek of surprise at the noise of Rin's head pushing through the nearby wall. But when Rin pulled her head out of the stone and then gave a deep sigh, Rangiku realised it would be easier to make a joke now and distract the situation before she was killed. "It's kind of what I expect Lord Uso said when he heard you were love struck with Captain Zaraki."

Rin's face twitched slightly, her body trembling violently before she twisted her head in an unnaturally slow manner towards Rangiku.

"I… WHAT!"

"Oh come on Rinny! Everyone knows you two had some kind of soul-mate relationship going on. He always turned up to save you like a hero and you always turned up to help him. I mean, you can't say you didn't beat up that girl because you were jealous she was dating Kenpachi…" Rangiku grinned as Rin's teeth began to grind together.

"I WASN'T JEALOUS! She was using him as a trophy to show off that she could get any guy – she didn't care about him and used to be really rude about how he acted. You don't change Captain Zaraki – you go along with him and adore how idiotic he can be!" Rin leapt up from the bed, hunching her back and flexing her muscles as she tried to hold back her rage.

"AH! You said it there… You adore him!" Rangiku giggled and Rin just slumped back onto the bed in defeat. What was the point of arguing? Rangiku sniggered before twirling a strand of Rin's hair and grinning at her. "Besides… Even if you don't howl at the moon for him, he was certainly upset when I thought you were dead. Ikkaku told me he actually saw him crying at the grave they made for you – first time he'd ever seen the big guy do that! And of course, he's not been the same since you disappeared…. I mean, he lost a battle to some punk kid called Ichigo."

"He lost?" Rin lifted her head up, her face etched in concern and Rangiku was almost worried.

"Yeah… But Ichigo's like some super amazing kid soul-reaper who could do anything. He sort of lost at the same time and I think it sort of shocked Kenny because afterwards he started to act like he used to and do things that he enjoyed. It sort of… resurrected him."

"Indeed…" Rin pondered gently, thumbing at her chin. She would have to talk to Kenpachi, there was no way of avoiding it now – but she had someone else important she needed to see now that she was back in the Sereitei and everyone knew it.

_COMING SOON – CHAPTER TEN: Highs and Lows of Days Old_

_Rin decides it's time to go and see the man who took her in and made her life hell… but was there a more important reason that Lord Uso was so strict with her? Plus Rin and Kenpachi get a chance to sit down and talk, with Yachiru keeping an eye on what's going on. Will Kenpachi have something important to say to Rin or is he just going to ask her if she wants a fight?_


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN: HIGHS AND LOWS OF DAYS OLD

"Maybe I was drunk at the time or something... I shouldn't be going here to see that Old Man! He probably doesn't give a monkey!" Rin mumbled in annoyance as her companions, save Igor, tried to force her to go into the old courtyard of the Uso Family House and talk to the man that once referred to her as his daughter. It was an uncomfortable idea, and Rin had only agreed because it would use up the time Captain Yamamoto demanded they stay in the Sereitei before they were allowed to leave. It was not normal for the Captain General to suggest anyone hang around longer then they needed, but as Rin was one of few to sit down and drink his tea with him, and not suffer ill affects, he wanted to have her and her friends around as long as possible.

"It's a good way to get closure Rin." Yaroslavl tried to encourage her, he understood what it was like when trying to make up with a father, however he was not sure if the Japanese Soul Reapers were the same as the Russian/ Bulgarian ones, let alone how the parenting style differed here. But Rin still dug her heels in, shaking her head and growling in disgust at the idea of meeting the man.

"He's a bastard! What closure can I get from him except he would rather I was the corpse and not my brother? There is nothing I can get from this! I hate the man!" Rin growled in annoyance before getting a hand slapped around the back of her head. She turned about with a yell and a raised fist, only to hear the door of the old house open and shuffling feet.

"Excuse me, warriors - is there something I can do to help you?" An older man stood by his sliding bamboo door and stared out at the gang with greyed eyes of curiosity. He was slightly bent, slightly wrinkled and grey streaks lined his hair - he no longer looked proud and fancy like Byakuya might, instead he looked withdrawn and lonely. Rin felt a pain in her chest to see him looking so miserable, but smiling up at the strangers; still trying to be a good host despite whatever malady had befallen him in years. Lord Uso was not the luckiest man in the Soul Society and perhaps that thought managed to pluck something in Rin's head to make her go down and bow to him.

"Greetings Lord Uso, I am Captain Ninel. I bring you good news in regards to the adopted daughter of yours - she is well and busy with a good role in our Eurasian Society and wishes to send you a hello." Rin gulped anxiously as the old man looked to her with bright shiny eyes. His mouth tried to say things but could not, his face lit up in a smile so heart-warming that Rin could not help but feel a little sickened by it. That was a smile and a look of sheer joy she'd never seen upon his face; not even with her brother. "Yachiru has been curious about how you have been; what message do you wish me to send back to her?"

"You know… Rin's surname was Ninel – are you one of her relatives? We knew she came from a different place…" The old man muttered, almost in delight. Rin froze in surprise at the look upon the old man's features, his smile and knowing face. She did not even have to speak or try and say anything else, because Lord Uso did instead. "Or rather, I should say that dressing as a man actually works for you Rin. But it's strange that you're nervous to come and see me. I've been waiting for you to come – as your body was never found…"

"You knew I was alive? But how? That's just…" Rin began, only to slap her head hard as she realised she'd given away the game completely. Somewhat unwillingly, she removed the layers that protected her form and then stood proudly in the front of the old man. Lord Uso surprised her though by moving straight to her and reaching a hand out to touch her long strands of blue hair, seemingly fascinated. "How?"

"Of course – you're one of the best fighters I've ever seen. It knew from the marks on the ground around Shoji had been all I needed to know. You must have been in considerable pain from the venom and there were all the hallmarks that you'd managed to get up and deliver a killing blow before collapsing again. The blood was everywhere. Then we found a bit of bandage and there was suddenly no blood. I knew that someone had saved you... or you had done it yourself. I always knew you were stronger then Shoji, but I feared that he would never be able to shine or work to his own target if he always clung to you."

"You think I was stronger then my brother? That can't be right! You forced me to stay back and treated me as if I knew nothing. If that's what you thought then why did you do so much to make me hate you? Why did you control everything I did?" She growled angrily, and her comrades wondered if maybe they should have darted forward and grabbed her in case she turned violent. But they could see the tears welling up in her eyes and how her clenched fists were turning white in her upset.

"Yes… I have to admit that I wanted to keep hold of you. I treated your terribly, not only because my wife had never wanted a daughter, but because I knew you would never be anything but a warrior. The moment I saw you I saw all the signs that you would be greater then the Sereitei and I was scared. I knew you did not truly belong here, and I was afraid you would feel the same and do something irrational so I tried to find a place for you, whether you would accept it or not. I also realised that your brother would always be overlooked by the world if you shone all the time… so I forced him to work hard and did what I could to make sure he kept at the same level as you… if only because I knew how weak he was…"

Rin stood there in silence for a moment… any hatred she had held for the man that had forced her to call him father was lifted. The cloud of confusion that had hung over her for years and encouraged her to lash out at every attempt made by him to seem caring was departing.

"I think I understand you now… father…"

After meeting with her father, she had headed back to the soul society only to find that Kenpachi and Yachiru had been waiting for them outside the land. She had never seen her old friend back in this land before, but Kenpachi seemed adamant to walk back with her to the Rukon District and find somewhere to sit and eat. Her companions had decided that the pair of them did not need watchers or other people hanging around and so slowly began to separate from them in an attempt to "scout-out" the area for when the diplomats came over here. Yachiru had insisted on hanging nearby and in the end Rin had encouraged her to join them in sitting down for tea and a meal.

"Hey Blue," Yachiru paused whilst scoffing down some sweet buns to stare directly into the odd coloured eyes of Rin that twinkled in delight. She quickly swallowed her food down before turning to Kenpachi, Yachiru was surprised that her bestest friend in the whole world was being silent and yet smiling in a way he barely ever did. "Do you have any kids?"

"Yes and no Yachiru." The question made Kenpachi almost choke on some tea. He seemed even more startled by Rin's response and was unsure if he was going to be able to say anything to expand the information or not. But Yachiru's eyes twinkled with confusion and Rin simply chuckled and took a sip of her tea before grinning. "I've ended up taking in an orphan or two over the years… well four to be exact."

"Any daughters?" Yachiru bleated, making Kenpachi even more anxious. It had made perfect sense that Rin would take in orphans, she had been one after-all and he had Yachiru himself. But for the little pink-haired horror to continue these conversations was all a little too much for Kenpachi. He did not really think of children much, he barely considered Yachiru a child, but to hear such things from someone like Rin was a little more nerve-wracking then he could have expected.

"I would so love to have a little girl of my own one day. It must sound really strange to you, Kenpachi, if only because I've always envied you and Yachiru. I've had loads of boys to look after in my time, but when I had to look after Sascharissa, it was a very weird time. I realised that girly-girls were exactly what I hated, but that the way they played with dolls and kittens was just adorable. Don't worry though, I'm just jabbering on again." Rin chuckled gently as she blushed when Kenpachi blinked at her a few times.

"I've always wanted to have a son that I could train up to be just like me." Kenpachi managed but the entirety of the room seemed to stop and stare at him, making him feel terribly awkward. Rin just smiled warmly and for a second Kenpachi was thinking of saying something very important to her… only he could not. He was not a coward of course… but he had no idea how to word what he was thinking. "Hey, maybe we should go and practice fighting now…"

_Coming Soon… Chapter 11 – Wants of the Beast Within_

_When Rin gets back to Soul Society, confused by the situation with Kenpachi, she finds that suddenly everyone wants to talk to her and there loads still to prepare. Her fellows have been getting up to things as well, namely Igor! But will Kenpachi be even able to consider what he was trying to express… who knows if his squad members might have picked something up._

Future chapters will now be placed on my deviantart account so please go to .com to read later chapters, thank you – it has its own folder in the Gallery.


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